Muscle protein synthesis, mTORC1/MAPK/Hippo signaling, and capillary density are altered by blocking of myostatin and activins
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-ENDOCRINOLOGY AND METABOLISM
Authors: Hulmi, Juha J.; Oliveira, Bernardo M.; Silvennoinen, Mika; Hoogaars, Willem M. H.; Ma, Hongqiang; Pierre, Philippe; Pasternack, Arja; Kainulainen, Heikki; Ritvos, Olli
Abstract
Hulmi JJ, Oliveira BM, Silvennoinen M, Hoogaars WM, Ma H, Pierre P, Pasternack A, Kainulainen H, Ritvos O. Muscle protein synthesis, mTORC1/MAPK/Hippo signaling, and capillary density are altered by blocking of myostatin and activins. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 304:E41-E50, 2013. First published October 31, 2012; doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00389.2012.-Loss of muscle mass and function occurs in various diseases. Myostatin blocking can attenuate muscle loss, but downstream signaling is not well known. Therefore, to elucidate associated signaling pathways, we used the soluble activin receptor IIb (sActRIIB-Fc) to block myostatin and activins in mice. Within 2 wk, the treatment rapidly increased muscle size as expected but decreased capillary density per area. sActRIIB-Fc increased muscle protein synthesis 1-2 days after the treatment correlating with enhanced mTORC1 signaling (phosphorylated rpS6 and S6K1, r = 0.8). Concurrently, increased REDD1 and eIF2Be protein contents and phosphorylation of 4E-BP1 and AMPK was observed. In contrast, proangiogenic MAPK signaling and VEGF-A protein decreased. Hippo signaling has been characterized recently as a regulator of organ size and an important regulator of myogenesis in vitro. The phosphorylation of YAP (Yes-associated protein), a readout of activated Hippo signaling, increased after short-and longer-term myostatin and activin blocking and in exercised muscle. Moreover, dystrophic mdx mice had elevated phosphorylated and especially total YAP protein content. These results show that the blocking of myostatin and activins induce rapid skeletal muscle growth. This is associated with increased protein synthesis and mTORC1 signaling but decreased capillary density and proangiogenic signaling. It is also shown for the first time that Hippo signaling is activated in skeletal muscle after myostatin blocking and exercise and also in dystrophic muscle. This suggests that Hippo signaling may have a role in skeletal muscle in various circumstances.
Identification and targeting of novel CDK9 complexes in acute myeloid leukemia
BLOOD
Authors: Beauchamp, Elspeth M.; Abedin, Sameem M.; Radecki, Sara G.; Fischietti, Mariafausta; Arslan, Ahmet Dirim; Blyth, Gavin T.; Yang, Angela; Lantz, Connor; Nelson, Alissa; Goo, Young Ah; Akpan, Imo; Eklund, Elizabeth A.; Frankfurt, Olga; Fish, Eleanor N.; Thomas, Paul M.; Altman, Jessica K.; Platanias, Leonidas C.
Abstract
Aberrant activation of mTOR signaling in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) results in a survival advantage that promotes the malignant phenotype. To improve our understanding of factors that contribute to mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling activation and identify novel therapeutic targets, we searched for unique interactors of mTOR complexes through proteomics analyses. We identify cyclin dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) as a novel binding partner of the mTOR complex scaffold protein, mLST8. Our studies demonstrate that CDK9 is present in distinct mTOR-like (CTOR) complexes in the cytoplasm and nucleus. In the nucleus, CDK9 binds to RAPTOR and mLST8, forming CTORC1, to promote transcription of genes important for leukemogenesis. In the cytoplasm, CDK9 binds to RICTOR, SIN1, and mLST8, forming CTORC2, and controls messenger RNA (mRNA) translation through phosphorylation of LARP1 and rpS6. Pharmacological targeting of CTORC complexes results in suppression of growth of primitive human AML progenitors in vitro and elicits strong antileukemic responses in AML xenografts in vivo.