We have shown previously that hyperinsulinemia inhibits interferon-␣-dependent activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) through mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)-induced serine phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1. Here we report that chronic insulin and high glucose synergistically inhibit interleukin (IL)-4-dependent activation of PI3-kinase in macrophages via the mTOR pathway. Resident peritoneal macrophages (PerM⌽s) from diabetic (db/db) mice showed a 44% reduction in IRS-2-associated PI3-kinase activity stimulated by IL-4 compared with PerM⌽s from heterozygote (db/؉) control mice. IRS-2 from db/db mouse PerM⌽s also showed a 78% increase in Ser/Thr-Pro motif phosphorylation without a difference in IRS-2 mass. To investigate the mechanism of this PI3-kinase inhibition, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-matured U937 cells were treated chronically with insulin (1 nM, 18 h) and high glucose (4.5 g/liter, 48 h). In these cells, IL-4-stimulated IRS-2-associated PI3-kinase activity was reduced by 37.5%. Importantly, chronic insulin or high glucose alone did not impact IL-4-activated IRS-2-associated PI3-kinase. Chronic insulin ؉ high glucose did reduce IL-4-dependent IRS-2 tyrosine phosphorylation and p85 association by 54 and 37%, respectively, but did not effect IL-4-activated JAK/STAT signaling. When IRS-2 Ser/Thr-Pro motif phosphorylation was examined, chronic insulin ؉ high glucose resulted in a 92% increase in IRS-2 Ser/Thr-Pro motif phosphorylation without a change in IRS-2 mass. Pretreatment of matured U937 cells with rapamycin blocked chronic insulin ؉ high glucose-dependent IRS-2 Ser/Thr-Pro motif phosphorylation and restored IL-4-dependent IRS-2-associated PI3-kinase activity. Taken together these results indicate that IRS-2-dependent IL-4 signaling in macrophages is impaired in models of type 2 diabetes mellitus through a mechanism that relies on insulin/ glucose-dependent Ser/Thr-Pro motif serine phosphorylation mediated by the mTOR pathway.The first member of the insulin receptor substrate (IRS) 1 family, IRS-1, was initially discovered in Fao hepatoma cells as a tyrosine-phosphorylated substrate of the insulin receptor (1). In addition to insulin signaling, IRS proteins are integrally linked to intracellular signaling pathways initiated by IGF-I and the cytokines IL-2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 13, 15 and IFN-␣ and IFN-␥ (2-10). Importantly, serine phosphorylation of IRS-1 blocks insulin, IGF-I, and cytokine signaling through IRS-1 (11-15) and appears critical to the initiation of proteasomedependent IRS-1 degradation (16,17). We have shown that chronic insulin in the presence of high glucose leads to serine phosphorylation of IRS-1 through an mTOR-dependent mechanism and that this renders IRS-1 a poorer substrate for JAK1 (18). In addition, we have shown that serine phosphorylation targets IRS-1 for proteasome-dependent degradation in L6 muscle cells (19). However, these same mechanisms have not been investigated in relation to IRS-2-dependent cytokine signaling.IRS-2 is...