Intracellular signalling: PDK1--a kinase at the hub of things. (1/431)

Phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1) is at the hub of many signalling pathways, activating PKB and PKC isoenzymes, as well as p70 S6 kinase and perhaps PKA. PDK1 action is determined by colocalization with substrate and by target site availability, features that may enable it to operate in both resting and stimulated cells.  (+info)

Functional counterparts of mammalian protein kinases PDK1 and SGK in budding yeast. (2/431)

BACKGROUND: In animal cells, recruitment of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase by growth factor receptors generates 3-phosphoinositides, which stimulate 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1). Activated PDK1 then phosphorylates and activates downstream protein kinases, including protein kinase B (PKB)/c-Akt, p70 S6 kinase, PKC isoforms, and serum- and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase (SGK), thereby eliciting physiological responses. RESULTS: We found that two previously uncharacterised genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which we term PKH1 and PKH2, encode protein kinases with catalytic domains closely resembling those of human and Drosophila PDK1. Both Pkh1 and Pkh2 were essential for cell viability. Expression of human PDK1 in otherwise inviable pkh1Delta pkh2Delta cells permitted growth. In addition, the yeast YPK1 and YKR2 genes were found to encode protein kinases each with a catalytic domain closely resembling that of SGK; both Ypk1 and Ykr2 were also essential for viability. Otherwise inviable ypk1Delta ykr2Delta cells were fully rescued by expression of rat SGK, but not mouse PKB or rat p70 S6 kinase. Purified Pkh1 activated mammalian SGK and PKBalpha in vitro by phosphorylating the same residue as PDK1. Pkh1 activated purified Ypk1 by phosphorylating the equivalent residue (Thr504) and was required for maximal Ypk1 phosphorylation in vivo. Unlike PKB, activation of Ypk1 and SGK by Pkh1 did not require phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate, consistent with the absence of pleckstrin homology domains in these proteins. The phosphorylation consensus sequence for Ypk1 was similar to that for PKBalpha and SGK. CONCLUSIONS: Pkh1 and Pkh2 function similarly to PDK1, and Ypk1 and Ykr2 to SGK. As in animal cells, these two groups of yeast kinases constitute two tiers of a signalling cascade required for yeast cell growth.  (+info)

Primary structure, tissue distribution, and expression of mouse phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1, a protein kinase that phosphorylates and activates protein kinase Czeta. (3/431)

Phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1) is a recently identified serine/threonine kinase that phosphorylates and activates Akt and p70(S6K), two downstream kinases of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. To further study the potential role of PDK1, we have screened a mouse liver cDNA library and identified a cDNA encoding the enzyme. The predicted mouse PDK1 (mPDK1) protein contained 559 amino acids and a COOH-terminal pleckstrin homology domain. A 7-kilobase mPDK1 mRNA was broadly expressed in mouse tissues and in embryonic cells. In the testis, a high level expression of a tissue-specific 2-kilobase transcript was also detected. Anti-mPDK1 antibody recognized multiple proteins in mouse tissues with molecular masses ranging from 60 to 180 kDa. mPDK1 phosphorylated the conserved threonine residue (Thr402) in the activation loop of protein kinase C-zeta and activated the enzyme in vitro and in cells. Our findings suggest that there may be different isoforms of mPDK1 and that the protein is an upstream kinase that activates divergent pathways downstream of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase.  (+info)

p70 S6 kinase is regulated by protein kinase Czeta and participates in a phosphoinositide 3-kinase-regulated signalling complex. (4/431)

p70 S6 kinase (p70S6K) is an important regulator of cell proliferation. Its activation by growth factor requires phosphorylation by various inputs on multiple sites. Data accumulated thus far support a model whereby p70S6K activation requires sequential phosphorylations at proline-directed residues in the putative autoinhibitory pseudosubstrate domain, as well as threonine 389. Threonine 229, a site in the catalytic loop is phosphorylated by phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK-1). Experimental evidence suggests that p70S6K activation requires a phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-K)-dependent signal(s). However, the intermediates between PI3-K and p70S6K remain unclear. Here, we have identified PI3-K-regulated atypical protein kinase C (PKC) isoform PKCzeta as an upstream regulator of p70S6K. In coexpression experiments, we found that a kinase-inactive PKCzeta mutant antagonized activation of p70S6K by epidermal growth factor, PDK-1, and activated Cdc42 and PI3-K. While overexpression of a constitutively active PKCzeta mutant (myristoylated PKCzeta [myr-PKCzeta]) only modestly activated p70S6K, this mutant cooperated with PDK-1 activation of p70S6K. PDK-1-induced activation of a C-terminal truncation mutant of p70S6K was also enhanced by myr-PKCzeta. Moreover, we have found that p70S6K can associate with both PDK-1 and PKCzeta in vivo in a growth factor-independent manner, while PDK-1 and PKCzeta can also associate with each other, suggesting the existence of a multimeric PI3-K signalling complex. This work provides evidence for a link between a phorbol ester-insensitive PKC isoform and p70S6K. The existence of a PI3-K-dependent signalling complex may enable efficient activation of p70S6K in cells.  (+info)

Activation of serum- and glucocorticoid-regulated protein kinase by agonists that activate phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase is mediated by 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1) and PDK2. (5/431)

The PtdIns(3,4,5)P3-dependent activation of protein kinase B (PKB) by 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinases-1 and -2 (PDK1 and PDK2 respectively) is a key event in mediating the effects of signals that activate PtdIns 3-kinase. The catalytic domain of serum- and glucocorticoid-regulated protein kinase (SGK) is 54% identical with that of PKB and, although lacking the PtdIns(3,4, 5)P3-binding pleckstrin-homology domain, SGK retains the residues that are phosphorylated by PDK1 and PDK2, which are Thr256 and Ser422 in SGK. Here we show that PDK1 activates SGK in vitro by phosphorylating Thr256. We also show that, in response to insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) or hydrogen peroxide, transfected SGK is activated in 293 cells via a PtdIns 3-kinase-dependent pathway that involves the phosphorylation of Thr256 and Ser422. The activation of SGK by PDK1 in vitro is unaffected by PtdIns(3,4,5)P3, abolished by the mutation of Ser422 to Ala, and greatly potentiated by mutation of Ser422 to Asp (although this mutation does not activate SGK itself). Consistent with these findings, the Ser422Asp mutant of SGK is activated by phosphorylation (probably at Thr256) in unstimulated 293 cells, and activation is unaffected by inhibitors of PtdIns 3-kinase. Our results are consistent with a model in which activation of SGK by IGF-1 or hydrogen peroxide is initiated by a PtdIns(3,4, 5)P3-dependent activation of PDK2, which phosphorylates Ser422. This is followed by the PtdIns(3,4,5)P3-independent phosphorylation at Thr256 that activates SGK, and is catalysed by PDK1. Like PKB, SGK preferentially phosphorylates serine and threonine residues that lie in Arg-Xaa-Arg-Xaa-Xaa-Ser/Thr motifs, and SGK and PKB inactivate glycogen synthase kinase-3 similarly in vitro and in co-transfection experiments. These findings raise the possibility that some physiological roles ascribed to PKB on the basis of the overexpression of constitutively active PKB mutants might be mediated by SGK.  (+info)

The Croonian Lecture 1998. Identification of a protein kinase cascade of major importance in insulin signal transduction. (6/431)

Diabetes affects 3% of the European population and 140 million people worldwide, and is largely a disease of insulin resistance in which the tissues fail to respond to this hormone. This emphasizes the importance of understanding how insulin signals to the cell's interior. We have recently dissected a protein kinase cascade that is triggered by the formation of the insulin 'second messenger' phosphatidylinositide (3,4,5) trisphosphate (PtdIns (3,4,5)P3) and which appears to mediate many of the metabolic actions of this hormone. The first enzyme in the cascade is termed 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1), because it only activates protein kinase B (PKB), the next enzyme in the pathway, in the presence of PtdIns (3,4,5)P3. PKB then inactivates glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3). PDK1, PKB and GSK3 regulate many physiological events by phosphorylating a variety of intracellular proteins. In addition, PKB plays an important role in mediating protection against apoptosis by survival factors, such as insulin-like growth factor-1.  (+info)

PDK1 acquires PDK2 activity in the presence of a synthetic peptide derived from the carboxyl terminus of PRK2. (7/431)

BACKGROUND: Protein kinase B (PKB) is activated by phosphorylation of Thr308 and of Ser473. Thr308 is phosphorylated by the 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1) but the identity of the kinase that phosphorylates Ser473 (provisionally termed PDK2) is unknown. RESULTS: The kinase domain of PDK1 interacts with a region of protein kinase C-related kinase-2 (PRK2), termed the PDK1-interacting fragment (PIF). PIF is situated carboxy-terminal to the kinase domain of PRK2, and contains a consensus motif for phosphorylation by PDK2 similar to that found in PKBalpha, except that the residue equivalent to Ser473 is aspartic acid. Mutation of any of the conserved residues in the PDK2 motif of PIF prevented interaction of PIF with PDK1. Remarkably, interaction of PDK1 with PIF, or with a synthetic peptide encompassing the PDK2 consensus sequence of PIF, converted PDK1 from an enzyme that could phosphorylate only Thr308 of PKBalpha to one that phosphorylates both Thr308 and Ser473 of PKBalpha in a manner dependent on phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5) trisphosphate (PtdIns(3,4,5)P3). Furthermore, the interaction of PIF with PDK1 converted the PDK1 from a form that is not directly activated by PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 to a form that is activated threefold by PtdIns(3,4,5)P3. We have partially purified a kinase from brain extract that phosphorylates Ser473 of PKBalpha in a PtdIns(3,4,5)P3-dependent manner and that is immunoprecipitated with PDK1 antibodies. CONCLUSIONS: PDK1 and PDK2 might be the same enzyme, the substrate specificity and activity of PDK1 being regulated through its interaction with another protein(s). PRK2 is a probable substrate for PDK1.  (+info)

Mutational analysis of the coding regions of the genes encoding protein kinase B-alpha and -beta, phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1, phosphatase targeting to glycogen, protein phosphatase inhibitor-1, and glycogenin: lessons from a search for genetic variability of the insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis pathway of skeletal muscle in NIDDM patients. (8/431)

The finding of a reduced insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis in the skeletal muscle of glucose-tolerant first-degree relatives of patients with NIDDM, as well as in cultured fibroblasts and skeletal muscle cells isolated from NIDDM patients, has been interpreted as evidence for a genetic involvement in the disease. The mode of inheritance of the common forms of NIDDM is as yet unclear, but the prevailing hypothesis supports a polygenic model. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that the putative inheritable defects of insulin-stimulated muscle glycogen synthesis might be caused by genetic variability in the genes encoding proteins shown by biochemical evidence to be involved in insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis in skeletal muscle. In 70 insulin-resistant Danish NIDDM patients, mutational analysis by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism-heteroduplex analysis was performed on genomic DNA or skeletal muscle-derived cDNAs encoding glycogenin, protein phosphatase inhibitor-1, phophatase targeting to glycogen, protein kinase B-alpha and -beta, and the phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1. Although a number of silent variants were identified in some of the examined genes, we found no evidence for the hypothesis that the defective insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis in skeletal muscle in NIDDM is caused by structural changes in the genes encoding the known components of the insulin-sensitive glycogen synthesis pathway of skeletal muscle.  (+info)