CCK-independent mTORC1 activation during dietary protein-induced exocrine pancreas growth

Hyperaminoacidemia from interrupted glucagon signaling increases pancreatic acinar cell proliferation and size via mTORC1 and YAP pathways

Increased blood amino acid levels (hyperaminoacidemia) stimulate pancreas expansion by unclear mechanisms. Here, by genetic and pharmacological disruption of glucagon receptor (GCGR) in mice and zebrafish, we found that the ensuing hyperaminoacidemia promotes pancreatic acinar cell proliferation and cell hypertrophy, which can be mitigated by a low protein diet in mice. In addition to mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling, acinar cell proliferation required slc38a5, the most highly expressed amino acid transporter gene in both species. Transcriptomics data revealed the activation signature of yes-associated protein (YAP) in acinar cells of mice with hyperaminoacidemia, consistent with the observed increase in YAP-expressing acinar cells. Yap1 activation also occurred in acinar cells in gcgr-/- zebrafish, which was reversed by rapamycin. Knocking down yap1 in gcgr-/- zebrafish decreased mTORC1 activity and acinar cell proliferation and hypertrophy. Thus, the study discovered a previously unrecognized role of the YAP/Taz pathway in hyperaminoacidemia-induced acinar cell hypertrophy and hyperplasia.

Dietary Protein and Amino Acid Deficiency Inhibit Pancreatic Digestive Enzyme mRNA Translation by Multiple Mechanisms

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Chronic amino acid (AA) deficiency, as in kwashiorkor, reduces the size of the pancreas through an effect on mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1). Because of the physiological importance of AAs and their role as a substrate, a stimulant of mTORC1, and protein synthesis, we studied the effect of acute protein and AA deficiency on the response to feeding.

METHODS

ICR/CD-1 mice were fasted overnight and refed for 2 hours with 4 different isocaloric diets: control (20% Prot); Protein-free (0% Prot); control (AA-based diet), and a leucine-free (No Leu). Protein synthesis, polysomal profiling, and the activation of several protein translation factors were analyzed in pancreas samples.

RESULTS

All diets stimulated the Protein Kinase-B (Akt)/mTORC1 pathway, increasing the phosphorylation of the kinase Akt, the ribosomal protein S6 (S6) and the formation of the eukaryotic initiation factor 4F (eIF4F) complex. Total protein synthesis and polysome formation were inhibited in the 0% Prot and No Leu groups to a similar extent, compared with the 20% Prot group. The 0% Prot diet partially reduced the Akt/mTORC1 pathway and the activity of the guanine nucleotide exchange factor eIF2B, without affecting eIF2α phosphorylation. The No Leu diet increased the phosphorylation of eIF2α and general control nonderepressible 2, and also inhibited eIF2B activity, without affecting mTORC1. Essential and nonessential AA levels in plasma and pancreas indicated a complex regulation of their cellular transport mechanisms and their specific effect on the synthesis of digestive enzymes.

CONCLUSIONS

These studies show that dietary AAs are important regulators of postprandial digestive enzyme synthesis, and their deficiency could induce pancreatic insufficiency and malnutrition.

Cholecystokinin (CCK) Regulation of Pancreatic Acinar Cells: Physiological Actions and Signal Transduction Mechanisms

Pancreatic acinar cells synthesize and secrete about 20 digestive enzymes and ancillary proteins with the processes that match the supply of these enzymes to their need in digestion being regulated by a number of hormones (CCK, secretin and insulin), neurotransmitters (acetylcholine and VIP) and growth factors (EGF and IGF). Of these regulators, one of the most important and best studied is the gastrointestinal hormone, cholecystokinin (CCK). Furthermore, the acinar cell has become a model for seven transmembrane, heterotrimeric G protein coupled receptors to regulate multiple processes by distinct signal transduction cascades. In this review, we briefly describe the chemistry and physiology of CCK and then consider the major physiological effects of CCK on pancreatic acinar cells. The majority of the review is devoted to the physiologic signaling pathways activated by CCK receptors and heterotrimeric G proteins and the functions they affect. The pathways covered include the traditional second messenger pathways PLC-IP3-Ca²⁺ , DAG-PKC, and AC-cAMP-PKA/EPAC that primarily relate to secretion. Then there are the protein-protein interaction pathways Akt-mTOR-S6K, the three major MAPK pathways (ERK, JNK, and p38 MAPK), and Ca²⁺ -calcineurin-NFAT pathways that primarily regulate non-secretory processes including biosynthesis and growth, and several miscellaneous pathways that include the Rho family small G proteins, PKD, FAK, and Src that may regulate both secretory and nonsecretory processes but are not as well understood. © 2019 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 9:535-564, 2019.

SEC23B is required for pancreatic acinar cell function in adult mice

Inactivation of Sec23b exclusively in the pancreatic acinar cells of adult mice results in loss of pancreatic mass, with evidence of cell loss, degeneration of exocrine cells (with smaller-than-normal zymogen granules and ER dilation), ER stress, and increased pancreatic cell apoptosis.

Mice with germline absence of SEC23B die perinatally, exhibiting massive pancreatic degeneration. We generated mice with tamoxifen-inducible, pancreatic acinar cell–specific Sec23b deletion. Inactivation of Sec23b exclusively in the pancreatic acinar cells of adult mice results in decreased overall pancreatic weights from pancreatic cell loss (decreased pancreatic DNA, RNA, and total protein content), as well as degeneration of exocrine cells, decreased zymogen granules, and alterations in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), ranging from vesicular ER to markedly expanded cisternae with accumulation of moderate-density content or intracisternal granules. Acinar Sec23b deletion results in induction of ER stress and increased apoptosis in the pancreas, potentially explaining the loss of pancreatic cells and decreased pancreatic weight. These findings demonstrate that SEC23B is required for normal function of pancreatic acinar cells in adult mice.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists increase pancreatic mass by induction of protein synthesis

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) controls glucose homeostasis by regulating secretion of insulin and glucagon through a single GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R). GLP-1R agonists also increase pancreatic weight in some preclinical studies through poorly understood mechanisms. Here we demonstrate that the increase in pancreatic weight following activation of GLP-1R signaling in mice reflects an increase in acinar cell mass, without changes in ductal compartments or β-cell mass. GLP-1R agonists did not increase pancreatic DNA content or the number of Ki67(+) cells in the exocrine compartment; however, pancreatic protein content was increased in mice treated with exendin-4 or liraglutide. The increased pancreatic mass and protein content was independent of cholecystokinin receptors, associated with a rapid increase in S6 phosphorylation, and mediated through the GLP-1R. Rapamycin abrogated the GLP-1R-dependent increase in pancreatic mass but had no effect on the robust induction of Reg3α and Reg3β gene expression. Mass spectrometry analysis identified GLP-1R-dependent upregulation of Reg family members, as well as proteins important for translation and export, including Fam129a, eIF4a1, Wars, and Dmbt1. Hence, pharmacological GLP-1R activation induces protein synthesis, leading to increased pancreatic mass, independent of changes in DNA content or cell proliferation in mice.

ERK activation is required for CCK-mediated pancreatic adaptive growth in mice

High levels of cholecystokinin (CCK) can stimulate pancreatic adaptive growth in which mature acinar cells divide, leading to enhanced pancreatic mass with parallel increases in protein, DNA, RNA, and digestive enzyme content. Prolonged release of CCK can be induced by feeding trypsin inhibitor (TI) to disrupt normal feedback control. This leads to exocrine growth in a CCK-dependent manner. The extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) pathway regulates many proliferative processes in various tissues and disease models. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of ERK signaling in pancreatic adaptive growth using the MEK inhibitors PD-0325901 and trametinib (GSK-1120212). It was determined that PD-0325901 given two times daily by gavage or mixed into powdered chow was an effective and specific inhibitor of ERK signaling in vivo. TI-containing chow led to a robust increase in pancreatic mass, protein, DNA, and RNA content. This pancreatic adaptive growth was blocked in mice fed chow containing the MEK inhibitors. PD-0325901 blocked TI-induced ERK-regulated early response genes, cell-cycle proteins, and mitogenesis by acinar cells. It was determined that ERK signaling is necessary for the initiation of pancreatic adaptive growth but not necessary to maintain it. PD-0325901 blocked adaptive growth when given before cell-cycle initiation but not after mitogenesis had been established. Furthermore, GSK-1120212, a chemically distinct inhibitor of the ERK pathway that is now approved for clinical use, inhibited growth similar to PD-0325901. These data demonstrate that the ERK pathway is required for CCK-stimulated pancreatic adaptive growth.

Luteolin inhibits behavioral sensitization by blocking methamphetamine-induced MAPK pathway activation in the caudate putamen in mice

Goal

To investigate the effect of luteolin on methamphetamine (MA)-induced behavioral sensitization and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal transduction pathway activation in mice.

Methods

Mice received a single dose of MA to induce hyperactivity or repeated intermittent intraperitoneal injections of MA to establish an MA-induced behavioral sensitization mouse model. The effect of luteolin on the development and expression of MA-induced hyperactivity and behavioral sensitization was examined. The expression and activity of ΔFosB and the levels of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (pERK1/2), phosphorylated c-Jun N-terminal kinase (pJNK), and phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (pp38) in the caudate putamen (CPu) were measured by western blot.

Results

Luteolin significantly decreased hyperactivity as well as the development and expression of MA-induced behavioral sensitization in mice. ΔFosB, pERK1/2, and pJNK levels in the CPu were higher in MA-treated mice than in control mice, whereas the pp38 level did not change. Injection of luteolin inhibited the MA-induced increase in ΔFosB, pERK1/2, and pJNK levels, but did not affect the pp38 level.

Conclusions

Luteolin inhibits MA-induced hyperactivity and behavioral sensitization in mice through the ERK1/2/ΔFosB pathway. Furthermore, the JNK signaling pathway might be involved in MA-induced neurodegeneration in the CPu, and luteolin inhibits this process.

Secretin is not necessary for exocrine pancreatic development and growth in mice

Adaptive exocrine pancreatic growth is mediated primarily by dietary protein and the gastrointestinal hormone cholecystokinin (CCK). Feeding trypsin inhibitors such as camostat (FOY-305) is known to induce CCK release and stimulate pancreatic growth. However, camostat has also been reported to stimulate secretin release and, because secretin often potentiates the action of CCK, it could participate in the growth response. Our aim was to test the role of secretin in pancreatic development and adaptive growth through the use of C57BL/6 mice with genetic deletion of secretin or secretin receptor. The lack of secretin in the intestine or the secretin receptor in the pancreas was confirmed by RT-PCR. Other related components, such as vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) receptors (VPAC(1) and VPAC(2)), were not affected. Secretin increased cAMP levels in acini from wild-type (WT) mice but had no effect on acini from secretin receptor-deleted mice, whereas VIP and forskolin still induced a normal response. Secretin in vivo failed to induce fluid secretion in receptor-deficient mice. The pancreas of secretin or secretin receptor-deficient mice was of normal size and histology, indicating that secretin is not necessary for normal pancreatic differentiation or maintenance. When WT mice were fed 0.1% camostat in powdered chow, the pancreas doubled in size in 1 wk, accompanied by parallel increases in protein and DNA. Camostat-fed littermate secretin and secretin receptor-deficient mice had similar pancreatic mass to WT mice. These results indicate that secretin is not required for normal pancreatic development or adaptive growth mediated by CCK.