Project description:The serine/threonine kinase LKB1 is a tumor suppressor gene which also plays key roles in metabolic function in peripheral tissues through its direct phosphorylation and activation of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). The LKB1/AMPK pathway plays key roles in the liver in suppressing transcriptional programs of gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis, and hepatic LKB1 is required for the ability of the type 2 diabetes agent metformin to lower blood glucose levels in mice. To more broadly define how the LKB1/AMPK pathway controls hepatic metabolism, transcriptional profiling was employed using mice with an inducible liver-specific deletion of Lkb1. Unexpectedly, LKB1/AMPK signaling broadly controls the expression of many phase I xenobiotic metabolism genes, including several members of the cytochrome P450 family. In particular, expression of CYP2E1, an important mediator of drug detoxification, was markedly reduced upon LKB1 loss. LKB1 liver-specific knockout mice exposed to hepatocarcinogens, exhibited marked resistance to carcinogen-induced hepatocyte apoptosis, proliferation, senescence, and liver fibrosis and tumorigenesis.
Project description:The 5' AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a master energy sensing kinase that is regulated by phosphorylation of Thr172 in its activation loop. Three kinases can phosphorylate AMPK at Thr172: the tumor suppressor LKB1, CAMKK2 and TAK1. While LKB1- and CAMKK2-mediated AMPK Thr172 phosphorylation have been well-characterized, much less is known about TAK1-dependent AMPK phosphorylation. An important target of TAK1 is IκB kinase (IKK) which controls NF-B transcription factor activation. Here, we tested the hypothesis that IKK acted downstream of TAK1 to activate AMPK by phosphorylating Thr172. IKK was required for phosphorylation of Thr172 in AMPK in response to treatment with IL-1 or TNF- treatment or by TAK1 overexpression. Additionally, IKK regulated basal AMPK Thr172 phosphorylation in several cancer cell types independently of TAK1, indicating that other modes of IKK activation could lead to AMPK activation. We found that IKK directly phosphorylated AMPK at Thr172 independently of LKB1 or energy stress. This finding indicated that while LKB1 activates AMPK as a sensor of energetic stress, IKK activated AMPK in response to extracellular inflammatory signals and through distinct pathways downstream of IKK activation. Accordingly, in LKB1-deficient cells, IKK inhibition caused a reduction in AMPK Thr172 phosphorylation in response to the mitochondrial inhibitor phenformin. This response led to enhanced apoptosis and suggests that IKK inhibition in combination with phenformin could be used clinically to treat patients with LKB1-deficient cancers.
Project description:RNA-Seq was performed on pancreatic islets from four transgenic mouse strains affecting LKB1 and AMPK. A conditional LKB1 knockout strain was generated. Double conditional knockouts for AMPK alpha1 and AMPK alpha2 were also generated. These conditional strains were crossed with RIP-Cre (driven by rat insulin promoter) or Ins1-Cre mice to generate LKB1 knockout and AMPK double knockout strains.
Project description:LKB1 encodes a Ser/Thr kinase and acts as an evolutionarily conserved sensor of cellular energy status in eukaryotic cells. LKB1 functions as the major upstream kinase to phosphorylate AMPK and 12 other AMPK-related kinases, which is required for their activation in many cellular contexts. Once activated, AMPK and AMPK-related kinases phosphorylate a diverse array of downstream effectors to switch on ATP-generating catabolic processes and switch off ATP-consuming anabolic processes, thus restoring energy balance during periods of energetic stress. To study the role and mechanisms of Lkb1 in the regulation of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) biology, we performed transcriptome analysis of sorted LSK (Lin-, Sca-1+, c-Kit+) cells from Lkb1 WT and KO bone marrows at 1 day post-completing tamoxifen injection (DPI). To identify more proximal molecular effects, we chose 1 DPI due to the modest phenotypes in Lkb1 KO mice, yet documentation of efficient Lkb1 deletion in LSK cells at this very early time point. We treated Lkb1 L/L rosa26CreERT2 and Lkb1 L/L mice (C57BL/Ka-CD45.2:Thy-1.1 background) with Tamoxifen for 5 days to somatically delete Lkb1 in adult mice, and generated Lkb1 WT and KO mice. At 1 DPI, we prepared single-cell suspensions from bone marrow (from femoral and tibial bones), and stained and sorted LSK populations using FACSAria (Becton Dickinson, Mountain View, CA). The RNA was extracted from sorted LSK cells, amplified and subjected to gene profiling. The samples include 3 Lkb1 WT (Lkb1 WT 5-7) and 4 Lkb1 KO (Lkb1 KO 4-7) replicates.
Project description:Metformin is the front-line treatment for type 2 diabetes worldwide. It acts via effects on glucose and lipid metabolism in metabolic tissues, leading to enhanced insulin sensitivity. Despite significant effort, the molecular basis for metformin response remains poorly understood, with a limited number of specific biochemical pathways studied to date. To broaden our understanding of hepatic metformin response, we combine phospho-protein enrichment in tissue from genetically engineered mice with a quantitative proteomics platform to enable the discovery and quantification of basophilic kinase substrates in-vivo. We define proteins that binding to 14-3-3 are acutely regulated by metformin treatment and/or loss of the serine/threonine kinase, LKB1. Inducible binding of 250 proteins following metformin treatment is observed, 44% LKB1-dependent. Beyond AMPK, metformin activates Protein Kinase D and MAPKAPK2 in an LKB1-independent manner, revealing additional kinases that may mediate aspects of metformin response. Deeper analysis uncovered substrates of AMPK in endocytosis and calcium homeostasis.