JBC

HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     


Originally published In Press as doi:10.1074/jbc.M302403200 on August 14, 2003

J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 278, Issue 43, 41970-41976, October 24, 2003
This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
278/43/41970    most recent
M302403200v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Horman, S.
Right arrow Articles by Rider, M. H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Horman, S.
Right arrow Articles by Rider, M. H.
Social Bookmarking
 Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?

Myocardial Ischemia and Increased Heart Work Modulate the Phosphorylation State of Eukaryotic Elongation Factor-2*

Sandrine Horman{ddagger}§, Christophe Beauloye§||, Didier Vertommen{ddagger}, Jean-Louis Vanoverschelde¶, Louis Hue{ddagger}, and Mark H. Rider{ddagger}**

From the {ddagger}Hormone and Metabolic Research Unit, Christian de Duve Institute of Cellular Pathology and the Division of Cardiology, University of Louvain Medical School, Avenue Hippocrate, 75, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium

Received for publication, March 7, 2003 , and in revised form, July 29, 2003.


    ABSTRACT
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Protein synthesis, in particular peptide chain elongation, is an energy-consuming biosynthetic process. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a key regulatory enzyme involved in cellular energy homeostasis. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that, as in liver, it could mediate the inhibition of protein synthesis by oxygen deprivation in heart by modulating the phosphorylation of eukaryotic elongation factor-2 (eEF2), which becomes inactive in its phosphorylated form. In anoxic cardiomyocytes, AMPK activation was associated with an inhibition of protein synthesis and an increase in phosphorylation of eEF2. Rapamycin, an inhibitor of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), did not mimic the effect of oxygen deprivation to inhibit protein synthesis in cardiomyocytes or lead to eEF2 phosphorylation in perfused hearts, suggesting that AMPK activation did not inhibit mTOR/p70 ribosomal protein S6 kinase (p70S6K) signaling. Human recombinant eEF2 kinase (eEF2K) was phosphorylated by AMPK in a time- and AMP-dependent fashion, and phosphorylation led to eEF2K activation, similar to that observed in extracts from ischemic hearts. In contrast, increasing the workload resulted in a dephosphorylation of eEF2, which was rapamycin-insensitive, thus excluding a role for mTOR in this effect. eEF2K activity was unchanged by increasing the workload, suggesting that the decrease in eEF2 phosphorylation could result from the activation of an eEF2 phosphatase.


    INTRODUCTION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Protein synthesis, in particular peptide chain elongation, is an energy-consuming biosynthetic process, accounting for a large proportion of the oxygen requirements of cells (1). Protein synthesis is regulated via the phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of translation factors and ribosomal proteins (2). The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)1 phosphorylates eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein-1 (4E-BP1), thereby relieving its inhibitory action on eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF-4E), which can then bind the mRNA cap and stimulate protein synthesis (3). The control of translation by mTOR is also exerted at elongation by regulating the phosphorylation of eukaryotic elongation factor-2 (eEF2) (4). The phosphorylation of eEF2 at Thr-56 by a specific calcium- and calmodulin-dependent eukaryotic eEF2 kinase (eEF2K) leads to its inactivation (5). The p70 ribosomal protein S6 kinase (p70S6K) lies downstream of mTOR and phosphorylates Ser-366 of eEF2K, causing inactivation (4). Therefore, mTOR activation can result in a stimulation of protein synthesis by decreasing eEF2 phosphorylation. Indeed, one of the mechanisms by which insulin stimulates protein synthesis in the heart involves mTOR activation, the effect being blocked by the mTOR inhibitor, rapamycin, and by wortmannin, which blocks phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) upstream of mTOR (6). The stimulation of protein synthesis by insulin also involves a mTOR-independent mechanism via the phosphorylation and inactivation of glycogen synthase kinase-3. Glycogen synthase kinase-3 phosphorylates and inactivates the guanine nucleotide exchange factor, eukaryotic initiation factor 2B (eIF2B) (7).

Increasing the workload of heart stimulates protein synthesis, leading to cardiac hypertrophy (8). The stretch of the ventricular wall could be the mechanical trigger for this effect. Therefore, protein synthesis plays an important role in the adaptation of cell size and myofibrillar content to mechanical stress. However, the signal transduction pathway leading to the stimulation of protein synthesis due to an increased workload is unknown. Like insulin, increasing the workload stimulates glycolysis via a wortmannin-sensitive pathway (9, 10). Activation of PI 3-kinase and mTOR could therefore be implicated in the stimulation of protein synthesis by increasing the workload, which was one of the aspects studied in this report.

In contrast to insulin and increased workload, oxygen deprivation inhibits protein synthesis (11, 12). In skeletal muscle, an inhibition of mTOR/p70S6K signaling following AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation has been proposed to explain the inhibition of protein synthesis by oxygen deprivation (13). AMPK acts as an energy and nutrient sensor in cells and is activated by an increased AMP:ATP ratio, as occurs in the absence of oxygen or in response to other cellular stresses (14, 15). Once activated, AMPK stimulates ATP-producing pathways and inhibits energy-consuming processes (1416). In this report, we investigated the role of mTOR and AMPK in the inhibition of protein synthesis during myocardial ischemia. We show that myocardial ischemia and increased workload modulate eEF2 phosphorylation by mechanisms independent of mTOR/p70S6K signaling.


    MATERIALS AND METHODS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Radiochemicals (Amersham Biosciences); wortmannin, oligomycin (Sigma); rapamycin (Biomol) were obtained from the sources indicated. Anti-ERK1/2 antibodies, anti-eEF2, anti-eIF2B, and anti-eIF2{alpha} antibodies were from Santa Cruz Biotechnology. Anti-phospho-Thr-36 4E-BP1, anti-phospho-Ser-51 eIF2{alpha}, and anti-phospho-Ser-535 eIF2B antibodies were from Cell Signaling. Rabbit polyclonal anti-phospho-Thr-56 eEF2 antibody was raised against a synthetic peptide (4). This peptide and the SAMS peptide (16) were provided by V. Stroobant (Ludwig Institute, Brussels, Belgium). Rabbit liver eEF2 was purified as described (17). Human recombinant GST·eEF2K was kindly provided by Dr. Gareth Browne and Professor Chris Proud (University of Dundee).

Preparation, Incubation, and Treatment of Cardiomyocytes—Cardiomyocytes were prepared from male Wistar rats (9). Cells (about 20–30 mg of wet weight/ml) were incubated at 37 °C in 20-ml vials with constant agitation and treated as described in the legend for Fig. 1. Following incubation, extracts were prepared using a standard lysis buffer containing a mixture of protease and phosphatase inhibitors (18).



View larger version (22K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 1.
AMPK activation leads to eEF2 phosphorylation in rat cardiomyocytes and in Langendorff-perfused rat hearts. After 10 min of equilibration, cardiomyocytes were incubated under anoxic conditions (95% N2, 5% CO2) or treated with 1 µM oligomycin. AMPK activity (A) and eEF2 phosphorylation (B) were measured after 10 min of anoxia or oligomycin treatment. In A, the rate of protein synthesis was measured by the incorporation of [14C]leucine into trichloroacetic acid-precipitable material. AMPK activity and protein synthesis rates were significantly different between the three groups (p < 0.05, n = 3). In B, extracts (50 µg) were subjected to SDS-PAGE and immunoblotted (IB) with anti-phospho (Thr-56) eEF2 antibody (upper panel). The membrane was stripped and probed with anti-full-length antibody that does not distinguish the phosphorylated protein (lower panel). In C and D, after 20 min of equilibration, hearts were submitted to no-flow ischemia or anoxia by changing the gas phase (95% N2,5%CO2) for 10 min. AMPK activity (C) and eEF2 phosphorylation (D) were assessed as described above. In C, AMPK activities are the means ± S.E. from at least five hearts. Results from three separate experiments are presented in D. *, a statistically significant difference with respect to the controls (p < 0.05).

 

Perfusion Protocols of Isolated Hearts—Hearts from fed male Wistar rats were perfused by the Langendorff method (9) or in "working conditions" (19) at 37 °C in a recirculating system with 100 ml of Krebs-Henseleit bicarbonate buffer containing 5 mM glucose and 2.5 mM CaCl2 in equilibrium with a gas phase containing either 95% O2 and 5% CO2 (normoxic conditions) or 95% N2 and 5% CO2 (anoxic conditions). The perfusion protocols and preload and afterload of the working hearts are described in the legends for the figures. Hearts were freeze-clamped at the indicated times for the preparation of extracts for immunoblotting and enzyme assay. Samples of the frozen left ventricules were homogenized in 9 volumes of lysis buffer on ice, using an Ultra-Turrax homogenizer (18).

Enzyme Assay and in Vitro Phosphorylation—AMPK was purified (18) and assayed as described (16). Human GST·eEF2K (1.5 µg) was incubated with AMPK (1 unit/ml) and 0.1 mM [{gamma}-32P]MgATP (specific radioactivity, 1000 cpm/pmol) in a final volume of 50 µl at 30 °C in the presence and absence of 0.2 mM AMP. At the indicated times, aliquots (5 µl) were removed for SDS-PAGE and phosphorimaging for the measurement of 32P incorporation. Heart extracts or human recombinant GST·eEF2K were assayed for eEF2K activity at 30 °C in a reaction mixture containing 20 mM Hepes-Tris-Mes (pH 7), 3 mM MgCl2, 2 mM EDTA, 1 mM dithiothreitol, 2% (v/v) glycerol with 4.14, 1.625, or 0.23 mM CaCl2/5 mM EGTA to give free Ca2+ concentrations of 1 µM, 100 nM, or 10 nM, respectively, at pH 7, and 10 µg/ml calmodulin, 70 pmol purified eEF2, 0.1 mM [{gamma}-32P]MgATP (specific radioactivity, 1000 cpm/pmol) in a final volume of 50 µl. After 5 min, the reactions were stopped by the addition of Laemmli sample buffer for SDS-PAGE in gels containing 10% (w/v) acrylamide. 32P incorporation was calculated by phosphorimaging the dried gels. One unit of protein kinase activity corresponds to the formation of one nmol/min under the conditions of the various assays.

Immunoblotting—Proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE and transferred to polyvinylidene difluoride membranes. The percentage of acrylamide used for the gels depended on the protein under study. Acrylamide concentrations were 15% (w/v) for 4E-BP1, 12% (w/v) for eIF2{alpha} and ERK1/2, and 10% (w/v) for eEF2 and eIF2B. The membranes were probed with the relevant primary antibodies, and immunoreactive bands were detected with protein G-peroxidase by enhanced chemiluminescence.

Phosphorylation Site Identification by Mass Spectrometry—Phosphorylated bands corresponding to the GST·eEF2K (Mr 119000) were cut from Coomassie Blue-stained gels, concentrated, and digested with 1 µg of sequencing grade trypsin as described (20). Peptides were separated by reverse-phase narrow-bore HPLC at a flow rate of 200 µl/min, and radioactive peaks were analyzed by nano-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (nano-ESI-MS/MS) in a LCQ Deca XP Plus ion-trap mass spectrometer (ThermoFinnigan, San Jose, CA) (20).

Metabolite Measurements and Other Methods—AMP and ATP (21), phosphocreatine (PCr), and creatine (Cr) (22) were measured in neutralized perchloric acid extracts as cited. Protein was estimated by the method of Bradford (23) using bovine serum albumin as a standard. Protein synthesis was measured as described (17).


    RESULTS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Oxygen Deprivation Inhibits Protein Synthesis, Activates AMPK, and Increases eEF2 Phosphorylation in Rat Cardiomyocytes—Isolated cardiomyocytes were incubated for 10 min with 1 µM oligomycin, an inhibitor of oxidative phosphorylation, or under anoxic conditions (N2 replacing O2 in the gas phase). Protein synthesis was inhibited 48% by anoxia and 22% by oligomycin treatment, and there was an inverse relationship between the rates of protein synthesis and AMPK activation (Fig. 1A). Incubation of cardiomyocytes under anoxic conditions increased the phosphorylation state of Thr-56 of eEF2, the effect of anoxia being more pronounced than that of oligomycin (Fig. 1B), in line with the extent of AMPK activation.

Ischemia and Anoxia Increase eEF2 Phosphorylation in Langendorff-perfused Rat Hearts—Similarly, in Langendorff-perfused rat hearts, no-flow ischemia and anoxia induced AMPK activation (Fig. 1C) and an increase in eEF2 phosphorylation (Fig. 1D). Phosphorylation of eEF2 was detectable within 2 min and was maximal between 5 and 10 min of no-flow ischemia and correlated with AMPK activation (not shown). The phosphorylation states of initiation factors 4E-BP1 and eIF2{alpha}, initiation factors that are also known to be regulated by phosphorylation, were unchanged under anoxia or ischemia for 10 min (not shown).

Rapamycin Has No Effect on the Rate of Protein Synthesis and eEF2 Phosphorylation in Rat Cardiomyocytes and Langendorff-perfused Rat Hearts—In isolated cardiomyocytes, rapamycin inhibited mTOR as it blocked Thr-389 phosphorylation of p70S6K induced by a mixture of insulin (0.1 µM), leucine (1 mM), and glutamine (10 mM) (Fig. 2A). The phosphorylation of Thr-389 of p70S6K by mTOR is required for its activation (24). Rapamycin did not mimic the effect of oxygen deprivation to inhibit protein synthesis in cardiomyocytes (Fig. 2C), suggesting that this inhibition did not result from a reduction in mTOR/p70S6K signaling. Moreover, the level of eEF2 phosphorylation in ischemic-perfused hearts was unaffected by rapamycin, although there was a small increase in eEF2 phosphorylation in the controls (Fig. 2B). The failure of rapamycin to inhibit basal protein synthesis, despite a slight increase in eEF2 phosphorylation, indicates that the mTOR/p70S6K pathway was not active and could not be implicated in the control of eEF2 phosphorylation under these conditions.



View larger version (34K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 2.
Effect of rapamycin on p70S6K activation, eEF2 phosphorylation, and basal protein synthesis. Cardiomyocytes were preincubated for 10 min in the presence of 250 nM rapamycin and treated with or without a mixture of insulin (0.1 µM), leucine (1 mM), and glutamine (10 mM) for 30 min. In A, extracts (50 µg) were subjected to SDS-PAGE and immunoblotted (IB) with anti-phospho (Thr-389) p70S6K antibody (upper panel). The membrane was stripped and probed with anti-full-length antibody that does not distinguish the phosphorylated protein (lower panel). In B, eEF2 phosphorylation was assessed in Langendorff-perfused hearts submitted to no-flow ischemia for 10 min in the presence or absence of rapamycin 250 nM. In C, protein synthesis was measured in cardiomyocytes as described in the legend for Fig. 1.

 

AMPK Phosphorylates and Activates eEF2K—The upstream kinase that phosphorylates Thr-56 of eEF2 is a highly specific calcium-and-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase called eEF2K (5). When measured in the presence of calcium, eEF2K was activated 3-fold in extracts prepared from isolated Langendorff-perfused rat hearts subjected to 10 min of no-flow ischemia (Fig. 3A). However, in the absence of calcium, some eEF2K activity was detectable, as observed in crude extracts from certain cells (25). Recombinant human GST·eEF2K was phosphorylated by AMPK in a time- and AMP-dependent fashion to a stoichiometry of 0.7 mol of phosphate incorporated per mol of enzyme (Fig. 3B). Phosphorylation resulted in a 2–2.5-fold increase in eEF2K activity that was restricted to the total activity measured in the presence of calcium (Fig. 3C). In an attempt to identify phosphorylation sites, GST·eEF2K was maximally phosphorylated with AMPK and [{gamma}-32P]MgATP. Following SDS-PAGE, bands corresponding to eEF2K were digested with trypsin, and the resulting peptides were separated by reverse-phase HPLC. A radioactive peak was detected, and its labeling was increased by AMP (not shown). Analysis of the labeled peak by nano-ESI-MS/MS allowed the identification of Ser-78 as one phosphorylation site for AMPK in the fragmentation spectrum of the phosphopeptide 69YSSSGSPANpSFHFK82, where "p" represents the phosphorylated residue (not shown).



View larger version (15K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 3.
Effect of AMPK on eEF2K activity. In A, eEF2K was assayed in extracts (15 µg) from Langendorff-perfused hearts as described under "Materials and Methods" in the presence or absence of Ca2+ at pH 7. The values are the means ± S.E. from at least three different hearts. In B, GST·human eEF2K (1.5 µg) was incubated with AMPK (1 unit/ml) and [{gamma}-32P]MgATP (specific radioactivity 1000 cpm/pmol) in a final volume of 50 µl at 30 °C in the presence and absence of 0.2 mM AMP. At the indicated times, aliquots (5 µl) were removed for SDS-PAGE and phosphorimaging for measurement of 32P incorporation. In C, GST·human eEF2K (1.5 µg) was incubated with 0.2 mM AMP and 1 mM MgATP in a final volume of 25 µl for 20 min at 30 °C in the presence or absence of AMPK (1 unit/ml). Aliquots (2.5 µl) were assayed for eEF2K activity for 5 min in reaction mixtures at the indicated Ca2+ concentrations at pH 7 as described under "Materials and Methods." The results are the means of three separate determinations. *, a statistically significant difference with respect to the controls (p < 0.05).

 

Regulation of eEF2 Phosphorylation by Anoxia under Working Conditions—Since eEF2K is a Ca2+-dependent protein kinase, basal eEF2 phosphorylation could be different in a model of isolated working heart, in which a higher calcium transient has been observed. Therefore, isolated working hearts were perfused with an afterload of 100 cm of H2O and a preload of 20 cm of H2O (physiological conditions) under normoxia and were then submitted to anoxia. Heart function was monitored continuously with a pressure transducer, indicating a drop in aortic pressure within the first minutes of anoxia (Fig. 4A). After 5 min of anoxia, AMPK was maximally activated about 4-fold (Fig. 4B), and at 10 min of anoxia, the AMP/ATP ratio was increased 2–3-fold (Fig. 4C), whereas the PCr/Cr ratio was reduced by about 30% (Fig. 4D). An increase in eEF2 phosphorylation was observed after 5 and 10 min of anoxia (Fig. 4E) as in unloaded hearts (Fig. 1D).



View larger version (33K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 4.
Effect of anoxia on AMP/ATP, PCr/Cr ratio, AMPK activity, and eEF2 phosphorylation in isolated working hearts. Hearts were perfused at 100 cm of H2O afterload and 20 cm of H2O preload. After 20 min of equilibration, hearts were submitted to anoxia by changing the gas phase (95% N2, 5% CO2) for 10 min. In A, the aortic pressure recording from a representative experiment is shown. Hearts were freeze-clamped at the indicated times for measurement of AMPK activity (B) and for the determination of the intracellular AMP/ATP (C) and PCr/Cr (D) concentration ratios. The values are the means ± S.E. for at least five hearts. *, a statistically significant difference with respect to the controls (p < 0.05). In E, Thr-56 phosphorylation of of eEF2 was assessed in extracts (50 µg of protein) as described in the legend for Fig. 1. IB, immunoblot.

 

eEF2 Is Dephosphorylated during Increased Heart Work—In perfused working hearts, we also studied the effects of increased heart work on eEF2 phosphorylation, as this condition is known to increase protein synthesis (8). Heart work was increased by raising the afterload from 60 (low load) to 120 cm of H2O (high load). In contrast to anoxia, an acute increase in pressure load resulted in a decrease in eEF2 phosphorylation, which occurred within 1 min and persisted over 15 min (Fig. 5A). This could explain the increase in protein synthesis in response to an increased workload (8), as eEF2 phosphorylation inhibits protein synthesis. The effect of increasing the workload to dephosphorylate eEF2 was unaffected by wortmannin and rapamycin (Fig. 6A), which are inhibitors of PI 3-kinase and mTOR respectively. Surprisingly, Thr-389 phosphorylation of p70S6K was also decreased under high load conditions, suggesting that mTOR was inhibited (Fig. 6B). This contrasts with the situation in rat cardiomyocytes treated with insulin, in which p70S6K is activated and protein synthesis is stimulated, both effects being blocked by rapamycin (6) (see also Fig. 2A). No significant decrease in eEF2K activity was observed after 15 min of high load (Fig. 5B), suggesting that the decrease in eEF2 phosphorylation might be due to the activation of an eEF2 phosphatase. Taken together, these results show a decrease in eEF2 phosphorylation in response to increasing the workload, for which mTOR/p70S6K does not seem to play a role.



View larger version (26K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 5.
Effect of increased heart work on eEF2 phosphorylation and eEF2K activity. Hearts were perfused at 60 cm of H2O for 15 min, submitted to an acute increase in afterload (120 cm of H2O), and freeze-clamped at the indicated times. In A, eEF2 phosphorylation was assessed in extracts (50 µg of protein) as described in the legend for Fig. 1. The blot is representative of three separate experiments. IB, immunoblot. In B, eEF2K was assayed in crude extracts (15 µg) as described under "Materials and Methods" in the presence or absence of Ca2+. The values are the means ± S.E. of at least three different hearts.

 


View larger version (47K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 6.
Effects of wortmannin and rapamycin on the dephosphorylation of eEF2 during acute increase in afterload. Hearts were submitted to an increase in afterload (from 60 to 120 cm of H2O) after 15 min of equilibration and freeze-clamped at 1 and 15 min under high load conditions. Wortmannin or rapamycin was added to the perfusion medium after 5 min of equilibration at final concentrations of 100 and 250 nM, respectively. Me2SO was the control vehicle. In A and C, eEF2 and 4E-BP1 (Thr-36 and Thr-45) phosphorylation were assessed in extracts (50 µg) as described in the legend for Fig. 1. IB, immunoblot. In B, phosphorylation of Thr-389 in p70S6K was measured at 1 and 15 min under high load conditions.

 

Increasing the workload resulted in a transient increase in 4E-BP1 phosphorylation, which was rapamycin-insensitive (Fig. 6C). The anti-phospho antibody used in these experiments recognizes Thr-36 and probably cross-reacts with Thr-45 (the surrounding sequences are almost identical). However, there was no change in eIF2{alpha} phosphorylation state (not shown). In a previous study, we showed that the stimulation of glycolysis by increasing the workload, like the metabolic effects of insulin, were wortmannin-sensitive and did not require AMPK (10). The MEK/ERK and PI 3-kinase pathways are both stimulated in response to insulin and implicated in the phosphorylation and inactivation of eEF2K. Therefore, we checked two downstream targets of these two pathways (ERK and eIF2B respectively) to exclude their implication in the dephosphorylation of eEF2 observed during the increased workload. The phosphorylation state of eIF2B tended to increase slightly on increasing the workload, and no changes in the phosphorylation states of ERK1/2 were detected (not shown).


    DISCUSSION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
In this report, we show that AMPK activation correlates with an increase in eEF2 phosphorylation in anoxic cardiomyocytes and ischemic heart. The increase in eEF2 phosphorylation during ischemia occurred before any change in the phosphorylation state of 4E-BP1 and was not mimicked by rapamycin. This suggests that the inhibition of mTOR signaling is not involved in the AMPK-induced inhibition of basal protein synthesis, confirming previous observations in hepatocytes (17) and cardiomyocytes (26). In hepatocytes incubated with amino acids, p70S6K becomes activated, and this effect was antagonized by AMPK activation (27, 28). Also, AMPK activation by 5-amino-4-imidazolecarboxamide riboside in rat skeletal muscle in vivo inhibited both the mTOR pathway and protein synthesis (13). Therefore, AMPK activation inhibits mTOR signaling and protein synthesis, but only if the pathway is first switched on, e.g. by amino acids or insulin.

In extracts from anoxic hepatocytes (17) or ischemic-perfused hearts (Fig. 3A), eEF2K was activated, suggesting that AMPK might phosphorylate and activate eEF2K. In some cells, treatments that lead to a rise in cAMP activate eEF2K by increasing the calcium-independent activity (29), whereas in other systems, the total activity measured in the presence of calcium is increased (30). The situation is further complicated by the proposed existence of isozymes of eEF2K (31), which could exhibit different kinetic properties. Here we show that in ischemic hearts, AMPK activation leads to an increase in eEF2K activity, which is mainly reflected in an increase in the total, calcium-dependent activity of the extracts (Fig. 3A). However, we cannot exclude that an inhibition of eEF2 phosphatase by AMPK could also contribute toward an increase in overall phosphorylation of eEF2. In vitro, AMPK phosphorylated a human recombinant GST·eEF2K (Fig. 3B), which led to eEF2K activation (Fig. 3C). Moreover, eEF2K activation was restricted to the calcium-dependent activity (Fig. 3C), similar to the activation of eEF2K seen in ischemic hearts (Fig. 3A). When the AMPK-phosphorylated human GST·eEF2K was digested with trypsin and analyzed by HPLC and mass spectrometry, Ser-78 was identified as a phosphorylation site for AMPK in a peak whose labeling was increased in the presence of AMP. This serine residue is conserved in eEF2K from human, mouse, and rat. However, the HPLC profile indicated the existence of other sites that could account for the change in activity.

In addition to activation by AMPK, a fall in intracellular pH, as occurs during ischemia (32), could participate in increasing the phosphorylation state of eEF2, as eEF2K activity rises as the pH drops below 7 (33). The increase in eEF2 phosphorylation is therefore likely to be due to a combination of phosphorylation/activation of eEF2K by AMPK and stimulation of eEF2K activity as a result of the fall in pH. In cortical neurons, oxidative stress induced by H2O2 treatment has been shown to inhibit protein synthesis by a process involving the phosphorylation of eEF2, which it was proposed could have been secondary to a rise in intracellular calcium (34). However, it is noteworthy that AMPK is activated in CCL13 cells treated with H2O2 (20).

Calcium levels are constantly varying in cardiac myocytes, whereas they are at basal levels in most other cells. Therefore, a mechanism that is independent of calcium would be important to ensure increased phosphorylation of eEF2, since a decreased calcium transient is observed within a few minutes in the absence of oxygen, the effect being more pronounced when the intracellular pH falls (35, 36). In contrast, increasing the workload increases the calcium transient of cardiomyocytes. However, perfusion under working conditions did not result in eEF2 phosphorylation, and the effect of anoxia on eEF2 phosphorylation was still apparent. This suggests that an additional mechanism maintains eEF2 in its dephosphorylated form in normoxic conditions, thereby counteracting the effect of calcium on eEF2K activity and maintaining protein synthesis.

In contrast to the situation in hypoxia, an acute increase in workload resulted in a decrease in eEF2 phosphorylation. This could be involved in the stimulation of protein synthesis in response to an increased workload (8) and reinforces the hypothesis that AMPK is not required for the acute adaptation of the myocardium to changes in pressure load (10). The decrease in eEF2 phosphorylation by increasing the workload was wortmannin- and rapamycin-insensitive, and no changes in the phosphorylation states of ERK1/2 were detected (not shown). Also, the phosphorylation state of eIF2B, which lies downstream of glycogen synthase kinase-3 in the insulin-signaling pathway, did not decrease on increasing the workload, which contrasts with the effect of insulin in decreasing eIF2B phosphorylation (7, 37). Furthermore, there was no change in eEF2K activity on increasing the workload (Fig. 5B). Therefore, we suggest that the decrease in eEF2 phosphorylation state could result from the activation of an eEF2 phosphatase. The protein phosphatase that specifically dephosphorylates eEF2 was proposed to be protein-serine/threonine phosphatase 2A. Indeed, protein-serine/threonine phosphatase 2A was suggested to be involved in the dephosphorylation of eEF2 in response to agonists such as angiotensin II, endothelin-I, and phenylephrine, which have been shown to mimic the hypertrophic response to an increased hemodynamic load (38). It was shown that protein-serine/threonine phosphatase 2A and the phosphorylation and inactivation of eEF2K by p90rsk/p70S6K1 probably contribute toward the dephosphorylation of eEF2 and thus to an increase in protein synthesis in cardiac myocytes under these conditions (39).

In conclusion, during ischemia AMPK not only participates in the stimulation of glycolysis but is also involved in the inhibition of protein synthesis via eEF2K activation and the subsequent phosphorylation and inactivation of eEF2. In contrast, glycolysis and protein synthesis (at least for eEF2 phosphorylation) during increased workload are controlled by two separate pathways, namely PI 3-kinase activation for the stimulation of glycolysis and activation of a phosphatase for eEF2 (Fig. 7).



View larger version (14K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 7.
Regulation of glycolysis and protein synthesis by ischemia and increased workload.

 


    FOOTNOTES
 
* The work was supported by the Federal Program Interuniversity Poles of Attraction (Belgium), by the Directorate General Higher Education and Scientific Research, French Community of Belgium, by the Fund for Medical Scientific Research (Belgium), and by European Union contract QLG1-CT-2001-01488 (AMPDIAMET). The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. Back

§ Both authors contributed equally to this work and should be considered as joint first authors. Back

|| Supported by the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research. Back

** To whom correspondence should be addressed: HORM Unit, Christian de Duve Institute of Cellular Pathology, University of Louvain Medical School, Avenue Hippocrate, 75, ICP-UCL 7529, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium. Tel.: 32-2-764-74-86; Fax: 32-2-764-75-07; E-mail: rider{at}horm.ucl.ac.be.

1 The abbreviations used are: mTOR, mammalian target of rapamycin; AMPK, AMP-activated protein kinase; eEF2, eukaryotic elongation factor-2; eEF2K, eEF2 kinase; 4E-BP1, 4E-binding protein-1; eIF2B, eukaryotic initiation factor 2B; p70S6K, p70 ribosomal protein S6 kinase; Mes, 4-morpholineethanesulfonic acid; nano-ESI-MS/MS, nano-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry; Cr, creatine; PCr, phosphocreatine; PI, phosphatidylinositol; ERK, extracellular signal-regulated kinase; MEK, mitogen-activated protein kinase/ERK kinase. Back


    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 
We thank Liliane Maisin and Audrey Ginion for technical help and Luc Bertrand for the interest in the work. We also thank Dr. Gareth Browne and Professor Chris Proud for kindly providing us with the recombinant human eEF2K.



    REFERENCES
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 

  1. Buttergeit, F., and Brand, M. D. (1995) Biochem. J. 312, 163–167[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  2. Proud, C. G. (1992) Curr. Top. Cell. Reg. 32, 243–369[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  3. Lawrence, J. C., and Abraham, R. T. (1997) Trends Biochem. Sci. 22, 345–349[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  4. Wang, X., Li, W., Williams, M., Terada, N., Alessi, D. R., and Proud, C. G. (2001) EMBO J. 20, 4370–4379[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  5. Redpath, N. T., Price, N. T., Severinov, K. V., and Proud, C. G. (1993) Eur. J. Biochem. 213, 689–699[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  6. Wang, L., Wang, X., and Proud, C. G. (2000) Am. J. Physiol. 278, H1056–H1068
  7. Wang, X., Janmaatt, M., Beugnet, A., Paulin, F. E., and Proud, C. G. (2002) Biochem. J. 367, 475–481[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  8. Kira, Y., Kochel, P. J., Gordon, E. E., and Morgan, H. E. (1984) Am. J. Physiol. 246, C247–C258[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  9. Lefebvre, V., Méchin, M.-C., Louckx, M. P., Rider, M. H., and Hue, L. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 22289–22292[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  10. Beauloye, C., Marsin, A.-S., Bertrand, L., Vanoverschelde, J.-L., Rider, M. H., and Hue, L. (2002) FEBS Lett. 531, 324–328[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  11. Jefferson, L. S., Wolpert, E. B., Giger, K. E., and Morgan, H. E. (1971) J. Biol. Chem. 246, 2171–2178[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  12. Wollenberger, A., Onnen, K., Hinterberger, U., Rabitzsch, G., and Kleitke, B. (1971) Cardiology 56, 48–64[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  13. Bolster, D. R., Crozier, S. J., Kimball, S. R., and Jefferson, L. S. (2002) J. Biol. Chem. 277, 23977–23980[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  14. Hardie, D. G., Carling, D., and Carlson, M. (1998) Annu. Rev. Biochem. 67, 821–855[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  15. Kemp, B. E., Mitchelhill, K. I., Stapelton, D., Michell, B. J., Chen, Z. P., and Witters, L. A. (1999) Trends Biochem. Sci. 24, 22–25[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  16. Davies, S. P., Carling, D., and Hardie, D. G. (1989) Eur. J. Biochem. 186, 123–128[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  17. Horman, S., Browne, G. J., Krause, U., Patel, J. V., Vertommen, D., Bertrand, L., Lavoinne, A., Hue, L., Proud, C. G., and Rider, M. H. (2002) Curr. Biol. 12, 1419–1423[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  18. Marsin, A. S., Bertrand, L., Rider, M. H., Deprez, J., Beauloye, C., Vincent, M. F., Van den Berghe, G., Carling, D., and Hue, L. (2000) Curr. Biol. 10, 1247–1255[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  19. Taegetmeyer, H., Hems, R., and Krebs, H. A. (1980) Biochem. J. 186, 701–711[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  20. Woods, A., Vertommen, D., Neumann, D., Türk, R., Bayliss, J., Schlattner, U., Wallimann, T., Carling, D., and Rider, M. H. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 28434–28442[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  21. Vincent, M. F., Marangos, P. J., Gruber, H. E., and Van den Berghe, G. (1991) Diabetes 40, 1259–1266[Abstract]
  22. Bergmeyer, H. U. (1984) in Methods of Enzymatic Analysis (Bergmeyer, H. U., Bergmeyer, J., and Grassl, M., eds) 3rd Ed., Vol. 8, pp. 500–514, VCH Verlagsgesellschaft, Weinheim, Germany
  23. Bradford, M. M. (1976) Anal. Biochem. 72, 248–254[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  24. Weng, Q. P., Kozlowski, M., Belham, C., Zhang, A., Combs, M. J., and Avruch, J. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 16621–16629[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  25. Diggle, T. A., Redpath, N. T., Heesom, K. J., and Denton, R. M. (1998) Biochem. J. 336, 525–529[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  26. McLeod, L. E., and Proud, C. G. (2002) FEBS Lett. 531, 448–452[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  27. Dubbelhuis, P. F., and Meijer, A. J. (2002) FEBS Lett. 521, 39–42[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  28. Krause, U., Bertrand, L., and Hue, L. (2002) Eur. J. Biochem. 269, 3751–3759[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  29. Hovland, R., Eikhom, T. S., Proud, C. G., Cressey, L. I., Lanotte, M., Doskeland, S. O., and Houge, G. (1999) FEBS Lett. 444, 97–101[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  30. McLeod, L. E, Wang, L., and Proud, C. G. (2001) FEBS Lett. 489, 225–228[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  31. Hait, W. N, Ward, M. D., Trakht, I. N., and Ryzanov, A. G. (1996) FEBS Lett. 397, 55–60[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  32. Beauloye, C., Bertrand, L., Krause, U., Marsin, A.-S., Dresselaers, T., Vanstapel, F., Vanoverschelde, J.-L., and Hue, L. (2001) Circ. Res. 88, 513–519[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  33. Dorovkov, M. V., Pavur, K. S., Petrov, A. N., and Ryzanov, A. G. (2002) Biochemistry 41, 13444–13450[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  34. Alirezaei, M., Marin, P., Nairn, A. C., Glowinski, J., and Prémont, J. (2001) J. Neurochem. 76, 1080–1088[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  35. Stern, M. D., Silverman, H. S., Houser, S. R., Josephson, R. A., Capogrossi, M. C., Nichols, C. G., Lederer, W. J., and Lakatta, E. G. (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 85, 6954–6958[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  36. Hongo, K., White, E., and Orchard, C. H. (1995) Am. J. Physiol. 269, C690–C697[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  37. Welsh, G. I., Miller, C. M., Loughlin, A. J., Price, N. T., and Proud, C. G. (1998) FEBS Lett. 421, 125–130[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  38. Everett, A. D., Stoops, T. D., Nairn, A. C., and Brautigan, D. (2001) Am. J. Physiol. 281, H161–H167
  39. Wang, L., and Proud, C. G. (2002) FEBS Lett. 531, 285–289[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
J. Biol. Chem.Home page
A. Y. M. Chan, V. W. Dolinsky, C.-L. M. Soltys, B. Viollet, S. Baksh, P. E. Light, and J. R. B. Dyck
Resveratrol Inhibits Cardiac Hypertrophy via AMP-activated Protein Kinase and Akt
J. Biol. Chem., August 29, 2008; 283(35): 24194 - 24201.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Cardiovasc ResHome page
L. Bertrand, S. Horman, C. Beauloye, and J.-L. Vanoverschelde
Insulin signalling in the heart
Cardiovasc Res, July 15, 2008; 79(2): 238 - 248.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Biol. Chem.Home page
S. Horman, N. Morel, D. Vertommen, N. Hussain, D. Neumann, C. Beauloye, N. E. Najjar, C. Forcet, B. Viollet, M. P. Walsh, et al.
AMP-activated Protein Kinase Phosphorylates and Desensitizes Smooth Muscle Myosin Light Chain Kinase
J. Biol. Chem., July 4, 2008; 283(27): 18505 - 18512.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.Home page
M. Kozakova, E. Muscelli, A. Flyvbjerg, J. Frystyk, C. Morizzo, C. Palombo, and E. Ferrannini
Adiponectin and Left Ventricular Structure and Function in Healthy Adults
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., July 1, 2008; 93(7): 2811 - 2818.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Appl. Physiol.Home page
D. M. Thomson, C. A. Fick, and S. E. Gordon
AMPK activation attenuates S6K1, 4E-BP1, and eEF2 signaling responses to high-frequency electrically stimulated skeletal muscle contractions
J Appl Physiol, March 1, 2008; 104(3): 625 - 632.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
CirculationHome page
L. H. Young
AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Conducts the Ischemic Stress Response Orchestra
Circulation, February 12, 2008; 117(6): 832 - 840.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Biol. Chem.Home page
H. Zhang, A. Bialkowska, R. Rusovici, S. Chanchevalap, H. Shim, J. P. Katz, V. W. Yang, and C. C. Yun
Lysophosphatidic Acid Facilitates Proliferation of Colon Cancer Cells via Induction of Kruppel-like Factor 5
J. Biol. Chem., May 25, 2007; 282(21): 15541 - 15549.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Circ. Res.Home page
M. Arad, C. E. Seidman, and J.G. Seidman
AMP-Activated Protein Kinase in the Heart: Role During Health and Disease
Circ. Res., March 2, 2007; 100(4): 474 - 488.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol.Home page
A. A. Noga, C.-L. M. Soltys, A. J. Barr, S. Kovacic, G. D. Lopaschuk, and J. R. B. Dyck
Expression of an active LKB1 complex in cardiac myocytes results in decreased protein synthesis associated with phenylephrine-induced hypertrophy
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, March 1, 2007; 292(3): H1460 - H1469.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Biol. Chem.Home page
L. Q. Hong-Brown, C. R. Brown, D. S. Huber, and C. H. Lang
Alcohol Regulates Eukaryotic Elongation Factor 2 Phosphorylation via an AMP-activated Protein Kinase-dependent Mechanism in C2C12 Skeletal Myocytes
J. Biol. Chem., February 9, 2007; 282(6): 3702 - 3712.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol.Home page
V. W. Dolinsky and J. R. B. Dyck
Role of AMP-activated protein kinase in healthy and diseased hearts
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, December 1, 2006; 291(6): H2557 - H2569.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol.Home page
E. Zarrinpashneh, K. Carjaval, C. Beauloye, A. Ginion, P. Mateo, A.-C. Pouleur, S. Horman, S. Vaulont, J. Hoerter, B. Viollet, et al.
Role of the {alpha}2-isoform of AMP-activated protein kinase in the metabolic response of the heart to no-flow ischemia
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, December 1, 2006; 291(6): H2875 - H2883.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Mol. Cell. Biol.Home page
K. R. Laderoute, K. Amin, J. M. Calaoagan, M. Knapp, T. Le, J. Orduna, M. Foretz, and B. Viollet
5'-AMP-Activated Protein Kinase (AMPK) Is Induced by Low-Oxygen and Glucose Deprivation Conditions Found in Solid-Tumor Microenvironments.
Mol. Cell. Biol., July 1, 2006; 26(14): 5336 - 5347.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Physiol.Home page
J. R. B. Dyck and G. D. Lopaschuk
AMPK alterations in cardiac physiology and pathology: enemy or ally?
J. Physiol., July 1, 2006; 574(1): 95 - 112.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Physiol.Home page
S. B. Jorgensen, E. A. Richter, and J. F. P. Wojtaszewski
Role of AMPK in skeletal muscle metabolic regulation and adaptation in relation to exercise
J. Physiol., July 1, 2006; 574(1): 17 - 31.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]