Glucose stimulates the activation domain potential of the PDX-1 homeodomain transcription factor

Hedgehog signaling regulation of homeodomain protein islet duodenum homeobox-1 expression in pancreatic beta-cells

Insulin gene expression in pancreatic beta-cells is regulated by signals from developmental morphogen proteins known as hedgehogs (Hhs). By analyzing 5'-deletion insulin promoter-reporter constructs in transient transfections of clonal INS-1 beta-cells, we located activating Hh-responsive regions within the rat insulin I promoter that include the glucose-response elements Far (E2) and Flat (A2/A3). Activation of Hh signaling in INS-1 cells by ectopic Hh expression increased (and inhibition of Hh signaling with the Hh-specific inhibitor cyclopamine decreased) transcriptional activation of a multimerized FarFlat enhancer-reporter construct. In DNA-binding studies, nuclear extracts from INS-1 cells activated by ectopic Hh expression increased (and extracts from INS-1 cells treated with cyclopamine decreased) protein binding to a radiolabeled FarFlat oligonucleotide probe. An antiserum directed against the transcription factor islet duodenum homeobox-1 (IDX-1), a regulator of pancreas development and activator of the insulin gene promoter, attenuated the binding activity of Hh-responsive protein complexes. Nuclear IDX-1 protein levels on Western blots were increased by ectopic Hh expression, thereby providing a mechanism for Hh-mediated regulation of the insulin promoter. Addition of cyclopamine to INS-1 cells decreased IDX-1 messenger RNA expression. In transient transfections of a -4.5-kb mouse IDX-1 promoter-reporter construct, ectopic Hh expression increased (and cyclopamine administration decreased) transcriptional activation of the IDX-1 promoter in a dose-dependent manner. Thus, the IDX-1 gene is a direct regulatory target of Hh signaling in insulin-producing pancreatic beta-cells. We propose that Hh signaling activates the insulin gene promoter indirectly via the direct activation of IDX-1 expression. Because IDX-1 gene expression is essential for insulin gene expression, pancreatic beta-cell development, and normal glucose homeostasis, our findings that Hh signaling regulates IDX-1 expression in the endocrine pancreas suggest possible novel therapeutic approaches for diabetes mellitus.

Pancreatic development and adult diabetes

Low birth weight is an important risk factor for type 2 diabetes in later life. Maturity-onset diabetes of the young has been linked to genetic sequence abnormalities in transcription factors known to be involved in endocrine pancreatic development. These observations suggest that both the maternal environment and the fetal genome can influence the number and/or function of pancreatic beta cells in early life, and that this has life-long implications for postnatal diabetes. This article reviews the evidence that suggests that beta cells derive from a neogenic process within the pancreatic ductal epithelium, controlled by specific transcription factors and locally acting peptide growth factors. In rodents, many of the fetal phenotypes of beta cells are destroyed during neonatal life in a developmental apoptosis and are replaced by a second wave of neogenesis. This results in islets with insulin release characteristics suited to postnatal life. The timing and amplitude of these ontological events are altered by nutritional sufficiency, and this may be mediated by changes in pancreatic growth factor expression, particularly of the IGF axis. Because beta-cell plasticity after the perinatal period is limited, a dysfunctional programming of beta-cell ontogeny may present a long-term risk factor for glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes. This critical window of pancreatic development is likely to occur in third trimester of human development.

Glucagon-like peptide 1 increases glucose-dependent activity of the homeoprotein IDX-1 transactivating domain in pancreatic beta-cells

Both glucose and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) stimulate insulin gene transcription in endocrine pancreatic beta-cells within the islets of Langerhans. The effects of glucose are mediated by the homeodomain transcription factor islet duodenum homeobox -1 (IDX-1) that binds to two adenine thymidine-rich (A1 and A2/3) motifs within the rat insulin promoter. Glucose stimulates the activity of the transactivation domain of IDX-1 that lies within the first 80 amino acids of the IDX-1 protein. The effects of GLP-1 on insulin gene expression are primarily conferred by the cAMP responsive element (CRE) within the insulin promoter. GLP-1 stimulates glucose-dependent insulin release from beta-cells. We hypothesize that GLP-1 may augment the effects of glucose on insulin gene transcription. Here we show that GLP-1 stimulates insulin gene transcription independent of the CRE and is glucose-dependent. Furthermore, we show that GLP-1 stimulates the transactivational activity of IDX-1.

Regulation of insulin gene transcription

Recent studies of the insulin gene promoter and the transcription factors that regulate it have expanded our understanding of both how the production of insulin is restricted to the pancreatic beta -cell, and how that production is regulated by physiologic signals such as glucose. A picture is emerging in which an elaborate set of transcription factors binds to specific sequences along the promoter and recruits additional transcriptional co-activators to build a functional transcriptional activation complex that is unique to beta -cells. Surprisingly, however, genetic experiments in mice have demonstrated an unexpected degree of redundancy in the factors that control insulin gene expression, and have revealed the presence of a network of transcription factors that coordinate the expression of factors forming the insulin gene activation complex.

Glucose-stimulated preproinsulin gene expression and nuclear trans-location of pancreatic duodenum homeobox-1 require activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase but not p38 MAPK/SAPK2

Exposure of islet beta-cells to elevated glucose concentrations (30 versus 3 mm) prompts enhanced preproinsulin (PPI) gene transcription and the trans-location to the nucleoplasm of pancreatic duodenum homeobox-1 (PDX-1; Rafiq, I., Kennedy, H., and Rutter, G. A. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 23241-23247). Here, we show that in MIN6 beta-cells, over-expression of p110.CAAX, a constitutively active form of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) mimicked the activatory effects of glucose on PPI promoter activity, whereas Deltap85, a dominant negative form of the p85 subunit lacking the p110-binding domain, and the PI3K inhibitor LY 294002, blocked these effects. Similarly, glucose-stimulated nuclear trans-location of endogenous PDX-1 was blocked by Deltap85 expression, and wortmannin or LY 294002 blocked the trans-location from the nuclear membrane to the nucleoplasm of epitope-tagged PDX-1.c-myc. By contrast, SB 203580, an inhibitor of stress-activated protein kinase-2 (SAPK2)/p38 MAP kinase, had no effect on any of the above parameters, and PPI promoter activity and PDX-1.c-myc localization were unaffected by over-expression of the upstream kinase MKK6 (MAP kinase kinase-6) or wild-type p38/SAPK2, respectively. Furthermore, no change in the activity of extracted p38/SAPK2 could be detected after incubation of cells at either 3 or 30 mm glucose. These data suggest that stimulation of PI3K is necessary and sufficient for the effects of glucose on PPI gene transcription, acting via a downstream signaling pathway that does not involve p38/SAPK2.

The RIPE3b1 activator of the insulin gene is composed of a protein(s) of approximately 43 kDa, whose DNA binding activity is inhibited by protein phosphatase treatment

Glucose-stimulated and pancreatic islet beta cell-specific expression of the insulin gene is mediated in part by the C1 DNA-element binding complex, termed RIPE3b1. In this report, we define the molecular weight range of the protein(s) that compose this beta cell-enriched activator complex and show that protein phosphatase treatment inhibits RIPE3b1 DNA binding activity. Fractionation of beta cell nuclear extracts by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that RIPE3b1 binding was mediated by a protein(s) within the 37-49-kDa ranges. Direct analysis of the proteins within the RIPE3b1 complex by ultraviolet light cross-linking analysis identified three binding species of approximately 51, 45, and 38 kDa. Incubating beta cell nuclear extracts with either calf alkaline phosphatase or a rat brain phosphatase preparation dramatically reduced RIPE3b1 DNA complex formation. Phosphatase inhibition of RIPE3b1 binding was prevented by sodium pyrophosphate, a general phosphatase inhibitor. We discuss how changes in the phosphorylation status of the RIPE3b1 activator may influence its DNA binding activity.

Pancreatic beta cell-specific transcription of the pdx-1 gene. The role of conserved upstream control regions and their hepatic nuclear factor 3beta sites

To identify potential transactivators of pdx-1, we sequenced approximately 4.5 kilobases of the 5' promoter region of the human and chicken homologs, assuming that sequences conserved with the mouse gene would contain critical cis-regulatory elements. The sequences associated with hypersensitive site 1 (HSS1) represented the principal area of homology within which three conserved subdomains were apparent: area I (-2694 to -2561 base pairs (bp)), area II (-2139 to -1958 bp), and area III (-1879 to -1799 bp). The identities between the mouse and chicken/human genes are very high, ranging from 78 to 89%, although only areas I and III are present within this region in chicken. Pancreatic beta cell-selective expression was shown to be controlled by mouse and human area I or area II, but not area III, from an analysis of pdx-1-driven reporter activity in transfected beta- and non-beta cells. Mutational and functional analyses of conserved hepatic nuclear factor 3 (HNF3)-like sites located within area I and area II demonstrated that activation by these regions was mediated by HNF3beta. To determine if a similar regulatory relationship might exist within the context of the endogenous gene, pdx-1 expression was measured in embryonic stem cells in which one or both alleles of HNF3beta were inactivated. pdx-1 mRNA levels induced upon differentiation to embryoid bodies were down-regulated in homozygous null HNF3beta cells. Together, these results suggest that the conserved sequences represented by areas I and II define the binding sites for factors such as HNF3beta, which control islet beta cell-selective expression of the pdx-1 gene.

Regulation of the insulin gene by glucose: stimulation of trans-activation potency of human PDX-1 N-terminal domain

The beta cells in pancreatic islets of Langerhans increase insulin gene transcription in response to glucose. The pancreatic and duodenal homeobox-1 (PDX-1) plays a major role in glucose-induced insulin transcription. We studied the functional regions of the human PDX-1 protein fused to the DNA-binding domain of the transcription factor Gal4. The results indicate that the N-terminal domain of the hPDX-1, required for transactivation (amino acids 1-120) in transfected betaTC6 and HeLa cells, is also regulated by extracellular glucose concentrations in transfected rat islets. Deletion analyses have led to the mapping of two regions within the N terminus that are essential for its trans-activation properties. One sequence spans amino acids 97-120 in transfected islet and HeLa cells or amino acids 77-120 in betaTC6 cells; the other includes the highly conserved B box (amino acids 31-41). We thus present evidence of a glucose effect on hPDX-1 trans-activation activity, in addition to the previously described regulatory effect on its DNA-binding activity.