Skeletal muscle atrophies when its nerve supply is interrupted by disease, by surgical enervation, or by injury. The major objective of this proposal is to define mechanisms responsible for this degenerative response of the muscle to its loss of innervation. Denervation decreases the ability of skeletal muscle to respond to insulin. As muscle wasting is a consequence of insulin deficiency, one hypothesis is that insulin-resistance may contribute to the atrophy induced by denervation. MAP kinase, rsk-2, p70s6k, and GSK-3, are representative elements of several important signal transduction pathways that are thought to be involved in the control of protein synthesis.
Aim 1 is to determine whether motor denervation affects these kinases directly or attenuates the effects of insulin on these enzymes. Appropriate changes in the activities of any of these kinases could decrease the rate of protein synthesis. PP1G, a phosphatase responsible for dephosphorylating glycogen synthase and many other cellular proteins, is activated by phosphorylation of site 1 in its regulatory subunit (RGL) and inactivated by phosphorylation of site 2.
Aim 2 is to determine whether denervation inactivates the phosphatase by changing the phosphorylation state of RGL. PHAS-1 is a newly discovered protein that is involved in the stimulation of protein synthesis by insulin. PHAS-1 and two homologous proteins, PHAS-II and PHAS-III, are expressed in skeletal muscle.
Aim 3 is to determine whether different muscle fiber types express different isoforms of PHAS. The differential regulation of these proteins might explain some of the differences in the rate and extent of atrophy of different types of muscle fibers in response to insulin deprivation and denervation. PHAS I & II bind and inhibit elF-4E, the mRNA cap binding protein that mediates the potentially rate limiting step in translation initiation. When PHAS-1 is phosphorylated in response to insulin, it dissociates from elF-4E.
Aim 4 is to investigate the hypothesis that PHAS proteins are involved in the changes in protein synthesis that occur following denervation and in response to beta-adrenergic agonists.
Aim 5 is to determine whether PHAS proteins are involved in changes in protein synthesis produced by contractile activity. The experiments in this proposal should lead to a better understanding not only of how skeletal muscle mass is maintained normally, but also of why muscle wasting occurs after denervation.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AR041180-07
Application #
2442817
Study Section
Medical Biochemistry Study Section (MEDB)
Project Start
1992-02-01
Project End
2001-06-30
Budget Start
1997-07-01
Budget End
1998-06-30
Support Year
7
Fiscal Year
1997
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Virginia
Department
Pharmacology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
001910777
City
Charlottesville
State
VA
Country
United States
Zip Code
22904
Reynolds 4th, Thomas H; Bodine, Sue C; Lawrence Jr, John C (2002) Control of Ser2448 phosphorylation in the mammalian target of rapamycin by insulin and skeletal muscle load. J Biol Chem 277:17657-62
Mothe-Satney, I; Brunn, G J; McMahon, L P et al. (2000) Mammalian target of rapamycin-dependent phosphorylation of PHAS-I in four (S/T)P sites detected by phospho-specific antibodies. J Biol Chem 275:33836-43
Scrimgeour, A G; Allen, P B; Fienberg, A A et al. (1999) Inhibitor-1 is not required for the activation of glycogen synthase by insulin in skeletal muscle. J Biol Chem 274:20949-52
Xu, G; Kwon, G; Marshall, C A et al. (1998) Branched-chain amino acids are essential in the regulation of PHAS-I and p70 S6 kinase by pancreatic beta-cells. A possible role in protein translation and mitogenic signaling. J Biol Chem 273:28178-84
Scott, P H; Brunn, G J; Kohn, A D et al. (1998) Evidence of insulin-stimulated phosphorylation and activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin mediated by a protein kinase B signaling pathway. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 95:7772-7
Scott, P H; Lawrence Jr, J C (1998) Attenuation of mammalian target of rapamycin activity by increased cAMP in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. J Biol Chem 273:34496-501
Lin, T A; Lawrence Jr, J C (1997) Control of PHAS-I phosphorylation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes: effects of inhibiting protein phosphatases and the p70S6K signalling pathway. Diabetologia 40 Suppl 2:S18-24
Brunn, G J; Fadden, P; Haystead, T A et al. (1997) The mammalian target of rapamycin phosphorylates sites having a (Ser/Thr)-Pro motif and is activated by antibodies to a region near its COOH terminus. J Biol Chem 272:32547-50
Lawrence Jr, J C; Abraham, R T (1997) PHAS/4E-BPs as regulators of mRNA translation and cell proliferation. Trends Biochem Sci 22:345-9
Kimball, S R; Jurasinski, C V; Lawrence Jr, J C et al. (1997) Insulin stimulates protein synthesis in skeletal muscle by enhancing the association of eIF-4E and eIF-4G. Am J Physiol 272:C754-9

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