Abstract
Human islet studies implicate an important signaling role for the Cdc42 effector protein p21-activated kinase (PAK1) in the sustained/second-phase of insulin secretion. Because human islets from type 2 diabetic donors lack ∼80% of normal PAK1 protein levels, the mechanistic requirement for PAK1 signaling in islet function was interrogated. Similar to MIN6 β cells, human islets elicited glucose-stimulated PAK1 activation that was sensitive to the PAK1 inhibitor, IPA3. Given that sustained insulin secretion has been correlated with glucose-induced filamentous actin (F-actin) remodeling, we tested the hypothesis that a Cdc42-activated PAK1 signaling cascade is required to elicit F-actin remodeling to mobilize granules to the cell surface. Live-cell imaging captured the glucose-induced cortical F-actin remodeling in MIN6 β cells; IPA3-mediated inhibition of PAK1 abolished this remodeling. IPA3 also ablated glucose-stimulated insulin granule accumulation at the plasma membrane, consistent with its role in sustained/second-phase insulin release. Both IPA3 and a selective inhibitor of the Cdc42 GTPase, ML-141, blunted the glucose-stimulated activation of Raf-1, suggesting Raf-1 to be downstream of Cdc42 → PAK1. IPA3 also inhibited MEK1/2 activation, implicating the MEK1/2 → ERK1/2 cascade to occur downstream of PAK1. Importantly, PD0325901, a new selective inhibitor of MEK1/2 → ERK1/2 activation, impaired F-actin remodeling and the sustained/amplification pathway of insulin release. Taken together, these data suggest that glucose-mediated activation of Cdc42 leads to activation of PAK1 and prompts activation of its downstream targets Raf-1, MEK1/2 and ERK1/2 to elicit F-actin remodeling and recruitment of insulin granules to the plasma membrane to support the sustained phase of insulin release.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 808-816 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Biochemical Pharmacology |
Volume | 85 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 15 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Cdc42
- Exocytosis
- F-actin remodeling
- Insulin granule
- Islet β cell
- PAK1
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry
- Pharmacology