Amino acid signaling to mTOR/p70S6K in the heart : adding new and old pieces to the puzzle

Previous studies have been demonstrated that insulin and certain amino acids enhance protein synthesis and cell growth in different models including in the heart. A common and key signalling element in both processes is mTOR a Ser/Thr protein kinase which controls two downstream targets: p70S6K and 4EBP1. Together with other translation factors, both are important regulators of translation. Here, we study the molecular events leading to p70S6K activation by amino acids such as leucine and glutamine in the heart. Although it has been shown that under insulin stimulation the canonical PI3K∕PDK1∕PKB signalling pathway lead to p70S6K activation, little is known about how amino acids activate p70S6K. We hypothesized that leucine and glutamine known as anabolic regulators which activate p70S6K would integrate PDK1 in mediating their effects. Our results show that i) PDK1 usually considered to be dedicated to insulin signalling pathway is also a central kinase in the signal transduction pathway mediated by leucine in the heart, ii) PDK1 located downstream of a specific class 1 P13K contributes to the leucine mediated activation of mTOR via PRAS40, iii) insulin and leucine induces PRAS40∕mTOR∕p70S6K activation in a PDK1-dependent manner although by two different mechanisms, and iv) leucine and glutamine exert opposite effects on cardiac p70S6K regulation in adult heart. The multiple PDK1 involvement in hormonal (insulin) and nutrient (leucine) signalling transduction pathways would explain the cardiac-specific PDK1 -/- phenotype compared with other cardiac-specific knock outs of proximal insulin signalling elements. These findings points to PDK1 as a putative target to treat various cardiomyopathies.(BIFA - Sciences biomédicales et pharmaceutiques) -- UCL

Antagonistic effects of leucine and glutamine on the mTOR pathway in myogenic C(2)C (12) cells.

This study compared the effects of leucine and glutamine on the mTOR pathway, on protein synthesis and on muscle-specific gene expression in myogenic C(2)C(12) cells. Leucine increased the phosphorylation state of mTOR, on both Ser2448 and Ser2481, and its downstream effectors, p70(S6k), S6 and 4E-BP1. By contrast, glutamine decreased the phosphorylation state of mTOR on Ser2448, p70(S6k) and 4E-BP1, but did not modify the phosphorylation state of mTOR on Ser2481 and S6. Whilst the phosphorylation state of the mTOR pathway is usually related to protein synthesis, the incorporation of labelled methionine/cysteine was only transiently modified by leucine and was unaltered by glutamine. However, these two amino acids affected the mRNA levels of desmin, myogenin and myosin heavy chain in a time-dependant manner. In conclusion, leucine and glutamine have opposite effects on the mTOR pathway. Moreover, they induce modification of muscle-specific gene expression, unrelated to their effects on the mTOR/p70(S6k) pathway

Heart 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase activation by insulin requires PKB (protein kinase B), but not SGK3 (serum- and glucocorticoid-induced protein kinase 3).

On the basis of transfection experiments using a dominant-negative approach, our previous studies suggested that PKB (protein kinase B) was not involved in heart PFK-2 (6-phosphofructo2-kinase) activation by insulin. Therefore we first tested whether SGK3 (serum- and glucocorticoid-induced protein kinase 3) might be involved in this effect. Treatment of recombinant heart PFK-2 with [gamma-32P]ATP and SGK3 in vitro led to PFK-2 activation and phosphorylation at Ser466 and Ser483. However, in HEK-293T cells [HEK (human embryonic kidney)-293 cells expressing the large T-antigen of SV40 (simian virus 40)] co-transfected with SGK3 siRNA (small interfering RNA) and heart PFK-2, insulin-induced heart PFK-2 activation was unaffected. The involvement of PKB in heart PFK-2 activation by insulin was re-evaluated using different models: (i) hearts from transgenic mice with a muscle/heart-specific mutation in the PDK1 (phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1)-substrate-docking site injected with insulin; (ii) hearts from PKBbeta-deficient mice injected with insulin; (iii) freshly isolated rat cardiomyocytes and perfused hearts treated with the selective Akti-1/2 PKB inhibitor prior to insulin treatment; and (iv) HEK-293T cells co-transfected with heart PFK-2, and PKBalpha/beta siRNA or PKBalpha siRNA, incubated with insulin. Together, the results indicated that SGK3 is not required for insulin-induced PFK-2 activation and that this effect is likely mediated by PKBalpha

Activation of the cardiac mTOR/p70(S6K) pathway by leucine requires PDK1 and correlates with PRAS40 phosphorylation

Sanchez Canedo C, Demeulder B, Ginion A, Bayascas JR, Balligand JL, Alessi DR, Vanoverschelde JL, Beauloye C, Hue L, Bertrand L. Activation of the cardiac mTOR/p70(S6K) pathway by leucine requires PDK1 and correlates with PRAS40 phosphorylation. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 298: E761-E769, 2010. First published January 5, 2010; doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00421.2009.-Like insulin, leucine stimulates the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/p70 ribosomal S6 kinase (p70(S6K)) axis in various organs. Insulin proceeds via the canonical association of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1), and protein kinase B (PKB/Akt). The signaling involved in leucine effect, although known to implicate a PI3K mechanism independent of PKB/Akt, is more poorly understood. In this study, we investigated whether PDK1 could also participate in the events leading to mTOR/p70(S6K) activation in response to leucine in the heart. In wild-type hearts, both leucine and insulin increased p70(S6K) activity whereas, in contrast to insulin, leucine was unable to activate PKB/Akt. The changes in p70(S6K) activity induced by insulin and leucine correlated with changes in phosphorylation of Thr(389), the mTOR phosphorylation site on p70(S6K), and of Ser(2448) on mTOR, both related to mTOR activity. Leucine also triggered phosphorylation of the proline-rich Akt/PKB substrate of 40 kDa (PRAS40), a new pivotal mTOR regulator. In PDK1 knockout hearts, leucine, similarly to insulin, failed to induce the phosphorylation of mTOR and p70(S6K), leading to the absence of p70(S6K) activation. The loss of leucine effect in absence of PDK1 correlated with the lack of PRAS40 phosphorylation. Moreover, the introduction in PDK1 of the L155E mutation, which is known to preserve the insulin-induced and PKB/Akt-dependent phosphorylation of mTOR/p70(S6K), suppressed all leucine effects, including phosphorylation of mTOR, PRAS40, and p70(S6K). We conclude that the leucine-induced stimulation of the cardiac PRAS40/mTOR/p70(S6K) pathway requires PDK1 in a way that differs from that of insulin