SOCS (suppressor of cytokine signaling) proteins are inhibitors of cytokine signaling involved in negative feedback loops. We have recently shown that insulin increases SOCS-3 mRNA expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. When expressed, SOCS-3 binds to phosphorylated Tyr 960 of the insulin receptor and prevents Stat 5B activation by insulin. Here we show that in COS-7 cells SOCS-3 decreases insulin-induced insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) tyrosine phosphorylation and its association with p85, a regulatory subunit of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase. This mechanism points to a function of SOCS-3 in insulin resistance. Interestingly, SOCS-3 expression was found to be increased in the adipose tissue of obese mice, but not in the liver and muscle of these animals. Two polypeptides known to be elevated during obesity, insulin and tumor necrosis factor-␣ (TNF-␣), induce SOCS-3 mRNA expression in mice. Insulin induces a transient expression of SOCS-3 in the liver, muscle, and the white adipose tissue (WAT). Strikingly, TNF-␣ induced a sustained SOCS-3 expression, essentially in the WAT. Moreover, transgenic ob/ob mice lacking both TNF receptors have a pronounced decrease in SOCS-3 expression in the WAT compared with ob/ob mice, providing genetic evidence for a function of this cytokine in obesity-induced SOCS-3 expression. As SOCS-3 appears as a TNF-␣ target gene that is elevated during obesity, and as SOCS-3 antagonizes insulin-induced IRS-1 tyrosine phosphorylation, we suggest that it is a player in the development of insulin resistance.

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We have measured the turnover rate ofthe polypeptide subunits of the insulin receptor in cultured human lymphocytes (IM-9 line) and have investigated the mechanism of insulin-induced receptor loss. To estimate the rate of receptor degradation, lymphocytes were either pulse-labeled with [asSimethionine or surface labeled with NaF4 and lactoperoxidase. The insulin receptor was isolated by immunoprecipitation with anti-receptor antibody, and the rate of loss of radioactivity from each receptor subunit was determined after sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Two major (Mr 135,000 and 95,000) and one minor (Mr 210,000) subunits were found. By both labeling methods, the half-lives of the major insulin receptor subunits were 9-12 hr in normal media. When the cells were cultured in media containing 1 FAM insulin the turnover was accelerated 2.5-to 3.5-fold (half-life approximately 3 hr). The increase in degradation rate was dependent on the insulin concentration and correlated well with the ability to "down-regulate" the receptor. Guinea pig insulin was about 2% as active as porcine insulin in accelerating degradation, and human growth hormone was without effect. The acceleration of receptor degradation induced by insulin was partially blocked by 100 pM cycloheximide. The rate of biosynthesis of the insulin receptor did not appear to be altered in the presence of 1 jpM insulin after correction for the change in degradation rate. In conclusion, these data demonstrate that insulin-induced receptor loss in cultured lymphocytes is due to accelerated receptor degradation. The ability of hormones to regulate the concentration of their receptors on the surface of cells ("down-regulation") is a fundamental mechanism for the regulation of target cell sensitivity (1). Lymphocytes cultured in media containing various concentrations of insulin exhibit a time-and concentration-dependent decrease in insulin receptor concentration (2). Similarly, the number of insulin receptors on cells in vivo in many diseases is inversely related to the concentration ofinsulin to which the cells are exposed (3). This mechanism of insulin-induced loss of its own receptor is thought to play a major role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance in many disease states, including obesity (3,4).Using autoantibodies against the insulin receptor, we have recently identified the receptor subunits by specific immunoprecipitation of either externally or biosynthetically labeled proteins (5-7). In the present study we have used these techniques to measure directly the turnover rate ofinsulin receptor subunits and to study the mechanism of down-regulation of insulin receptors in human cultured lymphocytes. MATERIALS AND METHODSMaterials. Porcine insulin was purchased from Elanco (Indianapolis, IN); guinea pig insulin and human growth hormone were gifts from the Research Resources Program, and the National Pituitary Agency, National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases, National Institutes of Health.Na'"I, [a...

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) activation promotes glucose transporter 4 (Glut 4) translocation in adipocytes. In this study, we demonstrate that protein kinase B, a serine/threonine kinase stimulated by PI 3-kinase, is activated by both insulin and okadaic acid in isolated adipocytes, in parallel with their effects on Glut 4 translocation. In 3T3-L1 adipocytes, platelet-derived growth factor activated PI 3-kinase as efficiently as insulin but was only half as potent as insulin in promoting protein kinase B (PKB) activation. To look for a potential role of PKB in Glut 4 translocation, adipocytes were transfected with a constitutively active PKB (Gag-PKB) together with an epitope tagged transporter (Glut 4 myc). Gag-PKB was associated with all membrane fractions, whereas the endogenous PKB was mostly cytosolic. Expression of Gag-PKB led to an increase in Glut 4 myc amount at the cell surface. Our results suggest that PKB could play a role in promoting Glut 4 appearance at the cell surface following exposure of adipocytes to insulin and okadaic acid stimulation.

Cultured NIH-3T3 cells devoid of endogenous epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors were transfected with cDNA expression constructs encoding either normal human EGF receptor or a rgceptor mutated in vitro at Lys-721, a residue that is thought to function as part of the ATP-binding site of the kinase domain. Unlike the wild-type EGF-receptor expressed in these cells, which exhibited EGF-dependent protein tyrosine kinase activity, the mutant receptor lacked protein tyrosine kinase activity and was unable to undergo autophosphorylation and to phosphorylate exogenous substrates. Despite this deficiency, the mutant receptor was normally expressed on the cell surface, and it exhibited both high-and low-affinity binding sites. The addition of EGF to cells expressing wild-type receptors caused the stimulation of various responses, including enhanced expression of proto-oncogenes c-fos and c-myc, morphological changes, and stimulation of DNA synthesis. However, in cells expressing mutant receptors, EGF was unable to stimulate these responses, suggesting that the tyrosine kinase activity is essential for EGF receptor signal transduction.The protein tyrosine kinase gene family includes a group of proteins which act as membrane receptors for growth factors (for a review, see reference 6). The enzymatic activity of the cytoplasmic kinase domain of these receptors is regulated by the binding of specific growth factors to the extracellular-ligand-binding domain (for a review, see references 6 and 13). This leads to receptor self-phosphorylation and to the phosphorylation of specific substrates which may play a role in the pleiotropic response leading to mitogenesis. All protein tyrosine kinases contain a consensus lysine residue in the kinase domain which is thought to function as part of the ATP-binding site (3,4,16,17) (i.e., in epidermal growth factor receptor [EGF-R] or Lys-1018 in insulin receptor). It has been shown that mutations at these consensus lysine residues abolish the protein tyrosine kinase activity of insulin receptor (4) and of other members of the src gene family (7,15,19). To examine the role of the kinase activity of EGF-R, we have prepared an Ala-721 EGF-R cDNA construct by in vitro site-directed mutagenesis (5). The Ala-721 EGF-R cDNA construct was cloned into a mammalian expression vector which utilizes the simian virus 40 early promoter for gene expression and also contains the dihydrofolate reductase and neomycin resistance genes as selectable markers (12). The plasmid was transfected into NIH-3T3 cells, and Geneticin G418 (GIBCO) was used for selection of cells expressing receptor molecules. Several cloned cell lines expressing the wild-type receptor on the Ala-721 receptor mutant were developed. The NIH-3T3 cells used for transfection were obtained from C. Fryling. We compared various clones of NIH-3T3 cells for the expression of EGF-R by using immunoprecipitation and 125I-labeled