scholarly journals Disruption of the Serine/Threonine Kinase Akt Gene Affects Ovarian Development and Fecundity in the Cigarette Beetle, Lasioderma serricorne

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kang-Kang Xu ◽  
Yi Yan ◽  
Shu-Yan Yan ◽  
Peng-Liang Xia ◽  
Wen-Jia Yang ◽  
...  

Serine/threonine kinase Akt, an important component of the insulin signaling pathway, plays an essential role in many physiological processes. In this study, we identified and characterized an Akt gene (designated LsAkt) from the cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne. LsAkt contains a 1614 bp open reading frame encoding a 537 amino acid protein that possesses a conserved pleckstrin homology domain and a serine/threonine kinase domain. The expression of LsAkt was high in pupal stages and peaked in day-4 female pupae. In adult tissues, LsAkt was highly expressed in the thorax, ovary, and midgut. The expression of LsAkt was induced by methoprene or bovine insulin in vivo, but significantly decreased by 20-hydroxyecdysone. RNA interference-mediated knockdown of LsAkt resulted in severely blocked ovarian development and reduced fecundity and hatchability. The vitellogenin (Vg) content and juvenile hormone (JH) titers of LsAkt-depletion beetles were decreased, and expressions of Vg and four JH signaling and biosynthetic genes were significantly decreased. Silencing of LsAkt reduced the amounts of glucose, glycogen, and trehalose in female adults and affected the expressions of seven key carbohydrate metabolic genes. Taken together, it is inferred that Akt implicates in L. serricorne reproduction by modification of Vg synthesis, juvenile hormone production and carbohydrate metabolism.

Author(s):  
Adrian Rafael Murillo-de-Ozores ◽  
Alejandro Rodriguez-Gama ◽  
Hector Carbajal-Contreras ◽  
Gerardo Gamba ◽  
Maria Castaneda-Bueno

With No Lysine (K) kinase 4 (WNK4) belongs to a serine-threonine kinase family characterized by the atypical positioning of its catalytic lysine. Despite the fact that WNK4 has been found in many tissues, the majority of its study has revolved around its function in the kidney, specifically as a positive regulator of the thiazide-sensitive NaCl cotransporter (NCC) in the distal convoluted tubule (DCT) of the nephron. This is explained by the description of gain-of-function mutations in the gene encoding WNK4 that cause Familial Hyperkalemic Hypertension (FHHt). This disease is mainly driven by increased downstream activation of the Ste20-related Proline Alanine Rich Kinase (SPAK)/Oxidative Stress Responsive Kinase 1 (OSR1)-NCC pathway, which increases salt reabsorption in the DCT and indirectly impairs renal K+ secretion. Here, we review the large volume of information that has accumulated about different aspects of WNK4 function. We first review the knowledge on WNK4 structure and enumerate the functional domains and motifs that have been characterized. Then, we discuss WNK4 physiological functions based on the information obtained from in vitro studies and from a diverse set of genetically modified mouse models with altered WNK4 function. We then review in vitro and in vivo evidence on the different levels of regulation of WNK4. Finally, we go through the evidence that has suggested how different physiological conditions act through WNK4 to modulate NCC activity.


2004 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 2434-2437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Echenique ◽  
Aras Kadioglu ◽  
Susana Romao ◽  
Peter W. Andrew ◽  
Marie-Claude Trombe

ABSTRACT In the Streptococcus pneumoniae genome, stkP, encoding a membrane-associated serine/threonine kinase, is not redundant (L. Novakova, S. Romao, J. Echenique, P. Branny, and M.-C. Trombe, unpublished results). The data presented here demonstrate that StkP belongs to the signaling network involved in competence triggering in vitro and lung infection and bloodstream invasion in vivo. In competence, functional StkP is required for activation of comCDE upstream of the autoregulated ring orchestrated by the competence-stimulating peptide. This is the first description of positive regulation of comCDE transcription in balance with its repression by CiaRH.


2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 3759-3772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guisheng Zeng ◽  
Xianwen Yu ◽  
Mingjie Cai

The serine/threonine kinase Prk1p is known to be involved in the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton organization in budding yeast. One possible function of Prk1p is the negative regulation of Pan1p, an actin patch regulatory protein that forms a complex in vivo with at least two other proteins, Sla1p and End3p. In this report, we identified Sla1p as another substrate for Prk1p. The phosphorylation of Sla1p by Prk1p was established in vitro with the use of immunoprecipitated Prk1p and in vivo with the use ofPRK1 overexpression, and was further supported by the finding that immunoprecipitated Sla1p contained PRK1- and ARK1-dependent kinase activities. Stable complex formation between Prk1p and Sla1p/Pan1p in vivo could be observed once the phosphorylation reaction was blocked by mutation in the catalytic site of Prk1p. Elevation of Prk1p activities in wild-type cells resulted in a number of deficiencies, including those in colocalization of Pan1p and Sla1p, endocytosis, and cell wall morphogenesis, likely attributable to a disintegration of the Pan1p/Sla1p/End3p complex. These results lend a strong support to the model that the phosphorylation of the Pan1p/Sla1p/End3p complex by Prk1p is one of the important mechanisms by which the organization and functions of the actin cytoskeleton are regulated.


2020 ◽  
Vol 127 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pramod Sahadevan ◽  
Sherin A Nawaito ◽  
Joelle Trepanier ◽  
Fatiha Sahmi ◽  
Louis Villeneuve ◽  
...  

MAP kinase-activated protein kinase-5 (MK5) is a protein serine/threonine kinase involved in fibroblast function. MK5 is activated by phosphorylation at threonine-182 (Thr182): p38α/β, ERK3, and ERK4 have been implicated. We examined the phosphorylation of MK5 in adult cardiac ventricular fibroblasts. In serum-starved cardiac myofibroblasts (fibroblasts maintained on a plastic substrate), phospho-MK5 Thr182 (pThr182) immunoreactivity was predominantly nuclear. In response to serum, sorbitol, angiotensinII, TGFβ, or H 2 O 2 , pThr182 immunoreactivity both increased in intensity and relocated to the cytoplasm and the perinuclear region. In each case, the p38α/β inhibitor, SB203580, prevented both the increase in intensity and redistribution of pThr182 immunoreactivity. Incontrast, siRNA-mediated knockdown of ERK3 resulted in a diffuse cytosolic distribution of pThr182 immunoreactivity but failed to attenuate the increase in intensity. On Phos-tag PAGE, the electrophoretic mobility of phosphorylated proteins is reduced. Phos-tag PAGE resolved MK5 immunoreactivity from actively dividing myofibroblasts into several slower-migrating bands that were absent following 1) pretreatment with phosphoprotein phosphatase or 2) including EDTA in the Phos-tag gels. In serum-stimulated myofibroblasts, SB203580 reduced both the abundance of lower-mobility forms of MK5 on Phos-tag PAGE and the abundance of MK5 immunoreactivity in ERK3 immunoprecipitates. When fibroblasts were maintained on a compliant (8-kPa) substrate, and hence quiescent, the lower mobility forms of MK5 immunoreactivity were less abundant relative to myofibroblasts. Furthermore, in whole heart lysates from micesacrificed 8 weeks after constriction of the transverse aorta (TAC), Phos-tag PAGE revealed banding patterns consistent with increased MK5 phosphorylation relative to sham hearts. Taken together, these observations suggest: 1) p38α/β are the primarymediators of MK5 phosphorylation at Thr182 in cardiac fibroblasts, 2) ERK3 may be responsible for targeting activated MK5 to specific cytosolic sites, 3) Thr182 is not the only site at which MK5 is phosphorylated in vivo , and 4) MK5 phosphorylation increases with fibroblast activation.


2011 ◽  
Vol 440 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Bach ◽  
Mark Larance ◽  
David E. James ◽  
Georg Ramm

Autophagy is a cellular degradation process that is up-regulated upon starvation. Nutrition-dependent regulation of mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) is a major determinant of autophagy. RTK (receptor tyrosine kinase) signalling and AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) converge upon mTOR to suppress or activate autophagy. Nutrition-dependent regulation of autophagy is mediated via mTOR phosphorylation of the serine/threonine kinase ULK1 (unc51-like kinase 1). In the present study, we also describe ULK1 as an mTOR-independent convergence point for AMPK and RTK signalling. We initially identified ULK1 as a 14-3-3-binding protein and this interaction was enhanced by treatment with AMPK agonists. AMPK interacted with ULK1 and phosphorylated ULK1 at Ser555in vitro. Mutation of this residue to alanine abrogated 14-3-3 binding to ULK1, and in vivo phosphorylation of ULK1 was blocked by a dominant-negative AMPK mutant. We next identified a high-stringency Akt site in ULK1 at Ser774 and showed that phosphorylation at this site was increased by insulin. Finally, we found that the kinase-activation loop of ULK1 contains a consensus phosphorylation site at Thr180 that is required for ULK1 autophosphorylation activity. Collectively, our results suggest that ULK1 may act as a major node for regulation by multiple kinases including AMPK and Akt that play both stimulatory and inhibitory roles in regulating autophagy.


1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 998-1005 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Liu ◽  
Y Wu ◽  
G Z Ma ◽  
D Lu ◽  
L Haataja ◽  
...  

The first exon of the BCR gene encodes a new serine/threonine protein kinase. Abnormal fusion of the BCR and ABL genes, resulting from the formation of the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph), is the hallmark of Ph-positive leukemia. We have previously demonstrated that the Bcr protein is tyrosine phosphorylated within first-exon sequences by the Bcr-Abl oncoprotein. Here we report that in addition to tyrose 177 (Y-177), Y-360 and Y283 are phosphorylated in Bcr-Abl proteins in vitro. Moreover, Bcr tyrosine 360 is phosphorylated in vivo within both Bcr-Abl and Bcr. Bcr mutant Y177F had a greatly reduced ability to transphosphorylate casein and histone H1, whereas Bcr mutants Y177F and Y283F had wild-type activities. In contrast, the Y360F mutation had little effect on Bcr's autophosphorylation activity. Tyrosine-phosphorylated Bcr, phosphorylated in vitro by Bcr-Abl, was greatly inhibited in its serine/threonine kinase activity, impairing both auto- and transkinase activities of Bcr. Similarly, the isolation of Bcr from cells expressing Bcr-Abl under conditions that preserve phosphotyrosine residues also reduced Bcr's kinase activity. These results indicate that tyrosine 360 of Bcr is critical for the transphosphorylation activity of Bcr and that in Ph-positive leukemia, Bcr serine/threonine kinase activity is seriously impaired.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guiqin Hou ◽  
Shuai Yang ◽  
Yuanyuan Zhou ◽  
Cong Wang ◽  
Wen Zhao ◽  
...  

mTOR is an evolutionarily conserved serine-threonine kinase with a central role in cell growth, invasion, and metastasis of tumors, and is activated in many cancers. The aims of this study were to investigate the expression of mTOR in ESCC tissues and its relationship with progression of ESCC and measure the changes of sensitivity of ESCC cells to cisplatin after cells were treated with mTOR siRNA by WST-8 assays, TUNEL, RT-PCR, and western blots in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that the expression of mTOR was higher in ESCC specimens than that in normal esophageal tissues and its expression was closely correlated with the TNM stage of ESCC. mTOR siRNA significantly increased the sensitivity of the EC9706 cells to cisplatin at proliferation in vitro and in vivo. The growth of ESCC xenografts was significantly inhibited by mTOR siRNA or cisplatin, and the cell number of apoptosis was obviously increased after xenografts were treated with mTOR siRNA or cisplatin alone, especially when mTOR siRNA combined with cisplatin. The present study demonstrates that the expression of mTOR has important clinical significance and inhibition of mTOR pathway by mTOR siRNA can improve the sensitivity of ESCC cells to cisplatin.


2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (13) ◽  
pp. 6648-6656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilian H. Florentino ◽  
Anésia A. Santos ◽  
Mariana R. Fontenelle ◽  
Guilherme L. Pinheiro ◽  
Francisco M. Zerbini ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The nuclear shuttle protein (NSP) from bipartite geminiviruses facilitates the intracellular transport of viral DNA from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and acts in concert with the movement protein (MP) to promote the cell-to-cell spread of the viral DNA. A proline-rich extensin-like receptor protein kinase (PERK) was found to interact specifically with NSP of Cabbage leaf curl virus (CaLCuV) and of tomato-infecting geminiviruses through a yeast two-hybrid screening. The PERK-like protein, which we designated NsAK (for NSP-associated kinase), is structurally organized into a proline-rich N-terminal domain, followed by a transmembrane segment and a C-terminal serine/threonine kinase domain. The viral protein interacted stably with defective versions of the NsAK kinase domain, but not with the potentially active enzyme, in an in vitro binding assay. In vitro-translated NsAK enhanced the phosphorylation level of NSP, indicating that NSP functions as a substrate for NsAK. These results demonstrate that NsAK is an authentic serine/threonine kinase and suggest a functional link for NSP-NsAK complex formation. This interpretation was corroborated by in vivo infectivity assays showing that loss of NsAK function reduces the efficiency of CaLCuV infection and attenuates symptom development. Our data implicate NsAK as a positive contributor to geminivirus infection and suggest it may regulate NSP function.


1998 ◽  
Vol 17 (14) ◽  
pp. 4056-4065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Kawabata ◽  
Hirofumi Inoue ◽  
Aki Hanyu ◽  
Takeshi Imamura ◽  
Kohei Miyazono

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