Inositide Signaling Research Articles

Inositol polyphosphate kinases: regulators of nuclear function

Recent work has uncovered roles for inositide signalling pathways downstream of phospholipase C activation and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate in the regulation of nuclear processes including gene expression, mRNA export and DNA metabolism. The identification of several IPKs (inositol polyphosphate kinases) has renewed interest in the cellular roles of inositol tetra-, penta-, hexa- and pyro-phosphates. Discoveries of inositide receptors and novel mechanisms of inositide action have provided important insights into how such messengers couple to nuclear machinery. In this chapter, we discuss the IPK family members and the nuclear processes that their inositide products regulate.

Inositol polyphosphate kinases: regulators of nuclear function

Recent work has uncovered roles for inositide signalling pathways downstream of phospholipase C activation and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate in the regulation of nuclear processes including gene expression, mRNA export and DNA metabolism. The identification of several IPKs (inositol polyphosphate kinases) has renewed interest in the cellular roles of inositol tetra-, penta-, hexa- and pyro-phosphates. Discoveries of inositide receptors and novel mechanisms of inositide action have provided important insights into how such messengers couple to nuclear machinery. In this chapter, we discuss the IPK family members and the nuclear processes that their inositide products regulate.

Roles for inositol polyphosphate kinases in the regulation of nuclear processes and developmental biology

Our laboratory studies the biology and enzyme regulation of inositol signal transduction pathways, which are activated in response to a wide range of stimuli. As a six-carbon cyclitol, inositol and its numerous phosphorylated derivatives efficiently generate combinatorial ensembles of signaling molecules. Through the cloning and characterization of inositol polyphosphate kinases (IPK), novel roles for inositol tetrakisphosphate (IP4), inositol pentakisphosphate (IP5), and inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) and inositol pyrophosphates (PP-IPs), have been identified. Studies have linked the IPKs and their inositide products to the regulation of nuclear processes including gene expression, chromatin remodeling, mRNA export, DNA repair and telomere maintenance. Analysis of IPK knockout animals has revealed a role for production of IPs in regulation of embryogenesis and organism development. The discoveries of the IPK proteins and their connection to nuclear signaling have generated significant interest in the field. Furthermore, they have provided interesting clues into the evolution of inositide signaling pathways. Ipk2/IPMK and IPS/IP6K family members are conserved from yeast to man. In contrast, the IP3 3-kinase (ITPK) branch is observed in selected metazoans and not in plant or fungi. This may imply that Ipk2 and IPS activities evolved first among the group. The promiscuity of the Ipk2 protein further supports this notion and may provide the cell with a means to generate many IP species in a genetically economical fashion. Studies of yeast inositide signaling reveal that these simple eukaryotes do not have an IP3 receptor in their genome and do not utilize diacylglycerol to activate protein kinase C. Thus, it appears that the canonical “text book” aspects of inositide signaling pathways are not conserved throughout eukaryotic evolution. In light of the conservation of Ipk2/IPMK, Ipk1 and IPS/IP6K pathways from yeast to man it is interesting to speculate that a primordial role of phospholipase C-induced, IPK-dependent inositide signaling was to regulate nuclear processes. As calcium and PKC signaling evolved in metazoans, these may have greatly enhanced signaling capabilities. Recent studies demonstrating an essential role for IP5, IP6 and possibly PP-IP production in metazoan development highlight the importance of IPK signaling in cellular responses in metazoans. With these thoughts in mind, we eagerly await future studies aimed at further elucidating how these signaling codes participate in developmental processes and the control of gene expression, mRNA export, and DNA metabolism.

Nuclear inositide signaling: An appraisal of phospholipase C β1 behavior in myelodysplastic and leukemia cells

Lucio Cocco , Matilde Y. Follo, Irene Faenza, Alberto Bavelloni, Anna Maria Billi, Alberto M. Martelli, Lucia Manzoli Cellular Signalling Laboratory, Department of Anatomical Sciences, University of Bologna, via Irnerio 48, 40126 Bologna, Italy Laboratory of Cell Biology and Electron Microscopy, IOR, Bologna, Italy ITOI-CNR, Bologna Unit, c/o IOR, Bologna, Italy School of Pharmacy, University of Bologna, Italy

Phosphoinositide deficiency due to inositol depletion is not a mechanism of lithium action in brain

The “inositol depletion hypothesis” has been widely held to be the explanation for both the effect of lithium on brain function, apropos of its use in mood disorders, and on the impairment of development and induction of embryonic malformations in diverse organisms. The essence of the hypothesis is that a deficiency in cellular myo-inositol (Ins), secondary to lithium inhibition of inositol monophosphatase and/or multiple inositol polyphosphate phosphatase activities with trapping of Ins as inositol phosphates, leads to a depression of phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) and a secondary impairment in inositide signaling. However, the ability of relatively low micromolar levels of Ins to reduce mammalian PtdIns synthetase activity in vivo has never been adequately tested. We have generated a lethal murine brain Ins deficiency model and measured PtdIns content using a novel MALDI-TOF MS method. Our results show that in the most severe Ins deficiency ever recorded in a mammal, the brain PtdIns levels do not decrease. We conclude that PtdIns deficiency due to “inositol depletion” is not a mechanism of lithium action in brain, and that Ins plays another unidentified role in the mammalian brain.

Type I PIPkinases Interact with and Are Regulated by the Retinoblastoma Susceptibility Gene Product—pRB

Inositide signaling at the plasma membrane has been implicated in the regulation of numerous cellular processes including cytoskeletal dynamics, vesicle trafficking, and gene transcription. Studies have also shown that a distinct inositide pathway exists in nuclei, where it may regulate nuclear processes such as mRNA export, cell cycle progression, gene transcription, and DNA repair. We previously demonstrated that nuclear PtdIns(4,5)P(2) synthesis is stimulated during progression from G1 through S phase, although mechanistic details of how cell cycle progression impinges on the regulation of nuclear inositides is unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that pRB, which regulates progression of cells from G1 through S phase interacts both in vitro and in vivo with Type I PIPkinases, the enzymes responsible for nuclear PtdIns(4,5)P(2) synthesis. Moreover, this interaction stimulates the activity of Type Ialpha PIPkinase in an in vitro assay. Using murine erythroleukamia (MEL) cells expressing a temperature-sensitive mutant of large T antigen (LTA), we demonstrate changes in vivo in nuclear PtdIns(4,5)P(2) levels that are consistent with the ability of LTA to disrupt pRB/Type I interactions. This study, for the first time, provides a potential mechanism for how cell cycle progression could regulate the levels of nuclear inositides.

Regulation of phosphoinositide hydrolysis and cytosolic free calcium induced by endothelin in human glomerular epitheial cells

The regulation of the inositide signalling pathway and [Ca2+]i by endothelin (ET) peptides was investigated in human glomerular epithelial cells in culture. Endothelin-1 and -2 induced an accumulation of inositol phosphates in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The baseline of [Ca2+]i in glomerular epithelial cells was 109 +/- 2.8 nmol/l, n = 60. Endothelin-1 (ED50: approx. 3 x 10(-9) mol/l) caused a rapid and transient rise in [Ca2+]i as detected by fura-2 microfluorimetry studies. The endothelin-1-induced inositol phosphate accumulation was inhibited by the selective ETA receptor antagonist BQ123. Endothelin-3 and BQ3020, a selective ETB receptor agonist, showed no effect. The results suggest an ETA-mediated pathway. This study demonstrates an ETA-mediated transmembrane signalling via phospholipase C with consecutive elevation of inositol phosphates and intracellular calcium. Since endothelin peptides contribute to both normal renal function and renal dysfunction, this study adds further knowledge on glomerular cell regulation.

Regulation of cytosolic phosphoinositide-phospholipase C by G-protein, Gp.

lating PLC cannot be excluded, as not all responses in these cells are inhibited by pertussis toxin pre- treatment [6,7]. Studies on the G-protein regulation of PLC have been hampered by the fact that membrane systems do not appear to contain all the compo- nents of the inositide signalling system. This has been established by comparing Met-Leu-Phe- stimulated and guanosine