A Novel Role for DOC2B in Ameliorating Palmitate-Induced Glucose Uptake Dysfunction in Skeletal Muscle Cells via a Mechanism Involving β-AR Agonism and Cofilin

Diet-related lipotoxic stress is a significant driver of skeletal muscle insulin resistance (IR) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) onset. β2-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) agonism promotes insulin sensitivity in vivo under lipotoxic stress conditions. Here, we established an in vitro paradigm of lipotoxic stress using palmitate (Palm) in rat skeletal muscle cells to determine if β-AR agonism could cooperate with double C-2-like domain beta (DOC2B) enrichment to promote skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity under Palm-stress conditions. Previously, human T2D skeletal muscles were shown to be deficient for DOC2B, and DOC2B enrichment resisted IR in vivo. Our Palm-stress paradigm induced IR and β-AR resistance, reduced DOC2B protein levels, triggered cytoskeletal cofilin phosphorylation, and reduced GLUT4 translocation to the plasma membrane (PM). By enhancing DOC2B levels in rat skeletal muscle, we showed that the deleterious effects of palmitate exposure upon cofilin, insulin, and β-AR-stimulated GLUT4 trafficking to the PM and glucose uptake were preventable. In conclusion, we revealed a useful in vitro paradigm of Palm-induced stress to test for factors that can prevent/reverse skeletal muscle dysfunctions related to obesity/pre-T2D. Discerning strategies to enrich DOC2B and promote β-AR agonism can resist skeletal muscle IR and halt progression to T2D.

Double C-2 like domain beta (DOC2B) induces calcium dependent oxidative stress to promote lipotoxicity and mitochondrial dysfunction for its tumor suppressive function

Mitochondria are biosynthetic and bioenergetic organelles that regulate many biological processes, including metabolism, oxidative stress, and cell death. Cervical cancer (CC) cells show impairments in mitochondrial structure and function and are linked with cancer progression. DOC2B is a tumor suppressor with anti-proliferative, anti-migratory, anti-invasive, and anti-metastatic function in CC. For the first time, we demonstrated the role of the DOC2B-mitochondrial axis with tumor growth regulatory functions in CC. We used DOC2B overexpression and knockdown model systems to show that DOC2B is localized to mitochondria and induces Ca²⁺-mediated lipotoxicity. DOC2B expression induced mitochondrial morphological changes with the subsequent reduction in mitochondrial DNA copy number, mitochondrial mass, and mitochondrial membrane potential. Intracellular and mitochondrial Ca²⁺, intracellular O^.-₂, and ATP levels were substantially elevated in the presence of DOC2B. DOC2B manipulation reduced glucose uptake, lactate production, and mitochondrial complex-IV activity. The presence of DOC2B significantly reduced the proteins associated with mitochondrial structure and biogenesis with the concomitant activation of AMPK signaling. Augmented lipid peroxidation (LPO) in the presence of DOC2B was a Ca²⁺-dependent process. Our findings demonstrated that DOC2B promotes lipid accumulation, oxidative stress, and LPO through intracellular Ca²⁺ overload, which may contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction and tumor-suppressive properties of DOC2B. We propose that the DOC2B-Ca²⁺-oxidative stress-LPO-mitochondrial axis could be targeted for confining CC. Further, the induction of lipotoxicity in tumor cells by activating DOC2B could serve as a novel therapeutic approach in CC.

Metastatic suppression by DOC2B is mediated by inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and induction of senescence

Senescence induction and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) events are the opposite sides of the spectrum of cancer phenotypes. The key molecules involved in these processes may get influenced or altered by genetic and epigenetic changes during tumor progression. Double C2-like domain beta (DOC2B), an intracellular vesicle trafficking protein of the double C2 protein family, plays a critical role in exocytosis, neurotransmitter release, and intracellular vesicle trafficking. DOC2B is repressed by DNA promoter hypermethylation and functions as a tumor growth regulator in cervical cancer. To date, the molecular mechanisms of DOC2B in cervical cancer progression and metastasis is elusive. Herein, the biological functions and molecular mechanisms regulated by DOC2B and its impact on senescence and EMT are described. DOC2B inhibition promotes proliferation, growth, and migration by relieving G0/G1-S arrest, actin remodeling, and anoikis resistance in Cal27 cells. It enhanced tumor growth and liver metastasis in nude mice with the concomitant increase in metastasis-associated CD55 and CD61 expression. Inhibition of EMT and promotion of senescence by DOC2B is a calcium-dependent process and accompanied by calcium-mediated interaction between DOC2B and CDH1. In addition, we have identified several EMT and senescence regulators as targets of DOC2B. We show that DOC2B may act as a metastatic suppressor by inhibiting EMT through induction of senescence via DOC2B-calcium-EMT-senescence axis.

DOC2B promotes insulin sensitivity in mice via a novel KLC1-dependent mechanism in skeletal muscle

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS

Skeletal muscle accounts for >80% of insulin-stimulated glucose uptake; dysfunction of this process underlies insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Insulin sensitivity is impaired in mice deficient in the double C2 domain β (DOC2B) protein, while whole-body overexpression of DOC2B enhances insulin sensitivity. Whether insulin sensitivity in the skeletal muscle is affected directly by DOC2B or is secondary to an effect on other tissues is unknown; the underlying molecular mechanisms also remain unclear.

METHODS

Human skeletal muscle samples from non-diabetic or type 2 diabetic donors were evaluated for loss of DOC2B during diabetes development. For in vivo analysis, new doxycycline-inducible skeletal-muscle-specific Doc2b-overexpressing mice fed standard or high-fat diets were evaluated for insulin and glucose tolerance, and insulin-stimulated GLUT4 accumulation at the plasma membrane (PM). For in vitro analyses, a DOC2B-overexpressing L6-GLUT4-myc myoblast/myotube culture system was coupled with an insulin resistance paradigm. Biochemical and molecular biology methods such as site-directed mutagenesis, co-immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry were used to identify the molecular mechanisms linking insulin stimulation to DOC2B.

RESULTS

We identified loss of DOC2B (55% reduction in RNA and 40% reduction in protein) in the skeletal muscle of human donors with type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, inducible enrichment of DOC2B in skeletal muscle of transgenic mice enhanced whole-body glucose tolerance (AUC decreased by 25% for female mice) and peripheral insulin sensitivity (area over the curve increased by 20% and 26% for female and male mice, respectively) in vivo, underpinned by enhanced insulin-stimulated GLUT4 accumulation at the PM. Moreover, DOC2B enrichment in skeletal muscle protected mice from high-fat-diet-induced peripheral insulin resistance, despite the persistence of obesity. In L6-GLUT4-myc myoblasts, DOC2B enrichment was sufficient to preserve normal insulin-stimulated GLUT4 accumulation at the PM in cells exposed to diabetogenic stimuli. We further identified that DOC2B is phosphorylated on insulin stimulation, enhancing its interaction with a microtubule motor protein, kinesin light chain 1 (KLC1). Mutation of Y301 in DOC2B blocked the insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of DOC2B and interaction with KLC1, and it blunted the ability of DOC2B to enhance insulin-stimulated GLUT4 accumulation at the PM.

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION

These results suggest that DOC2B collaborates with KLC1 to regulate insulin-stimulated GLUT4 accumulation at the PM and regulates insulin sensitivity. Our observation provides a basis for pursuing DOC2B as a novel drug target in the muscle to prevent/treat type 2 diabetes.

Phosphatidylinositol (4, 5)-bisphosphate targets double C2 domain protein B to the plasma membrane

Double C2 domain protein B (DOC2B) is a high-affinity Ca²⁺ sensor that translocates from the cytosol to the plasma membrane (PM) and promotes vesicle priming and fusion. However, the molecular mechanism underlying its translocation and targeting to the PM in living cells is not completely understood. DOC2B interacts in vitro with the PM components phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinositol (4, 5)-bisphosphate [PI(4, 5)P₂ ] and target SNAREs (t-SNAREs). Here, we show that PI(4, 5)P₂ hydrolysis at the PM of living cells abolishes DOC2B translocation, whereas manipulations of t-SNAREs and other phosphoinositides have no effect. Moreover, we were able to redirect DOC2B to intracellular membranes by synthesizing PI(4, 5)P₂ in those membranes. Molecular dynamics simulations and mutagenesis in the calcium and PI(4, 5)P₂ -binding sites strengthened our findings, demonstrating that both calcium and PI(4, 5)P₂ are required for the DOC2B-PM association and revealing multiple PI(4, 5)P₂ -C2B interactions. In addition, we show that DOC2B translocation to the PM is ATP-independent and occurs in a diffusion-like manner. Our data suggest that the Ca²⁺ -triggered translocation of DOC2B is diffusion-driven and aimed at PI(4, 5)P₂ -containing membranes.

DNA promoter methylation-dependent transcription of the double C2-like domain β (DOC2B) gene regulates tumor growth in human cervical cancer

Double C2-like domain β (DOC2B) gene encodes for a calcium-binding protein, which is involved in neurotransmitter release, sorting, and exocytosis. We have identified the promoter region of the DOC2B gene as hypermethylated in pre-malignant, malignant cervical tissues, and cervical cancer cell lines by methylation-sensitive dimethyl sulfoxide-polymerase chain reaction and bisulfite genome sequencing; whereas, it was unmethylated in normal cervical tissues (p < 0.05). The promoter hypermethylation was inversely associated with mRNA expression in SiHa, CaSki, and HeLa cells and treatment with demethylating agent 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine restored DOC2B expression. The region -630 to +25 bp of the DOC2B gene showed robust promoter activity by a luciferase reporter assay and was inhibited by in vitro artificial methylation with Sss1 methylase prior to transient transfections. Overexpression of the DOC2B gene in SiHa cells when compared with controls showed significantly reduced colony formation, cell proliferation, induced cell cycle arrest, and repressed cell migration and invasion (p < 0.05). Ectopic expression of DOC2B resulted in anoikis-mediated cell death and repressed tumor growth in a nude mice xenograft model (p < 0.05). DOC2B expressing cells showed a significant increase in intracellular calcium level (p < 0.05), impaired AKT1 and ERK1/2 signaling, and induced actin cytoskeleton remodeling. Our results show that promoter hypermethylation and silencing of the DOC2B gene is an early and frequent event during cervical carcinogenesis and whose reduced expression due to DNA promoter methylation may lead to selective cervical tumor growth.

Molecular characterization of near-complete trisomy 17p syndrome from inverted duplication in association with cryptic deletion of 17pter

Trisomy of the short arm of chromosome 17 (T17P) is a genomic disorder presenting with growth retardation, motor and mental retardation and constitutional physical anomalies including congenital heart defects. Here we report a case of near-complete T17P of which the genomic dosage aberrations were delineated by chromosomal microarray along with conventional diagnostic modalities. A 9-year-old Korean boy was admitted because of esophageal obstruction. He showed clinical manifestations of T17P, along with atypical features of scoliosis, corpus callosum agenesis, and seizure. Chromosome analyses revealed an inverted duplication of the chromosomal segment between 17p11.2 and 17p13.3. Chromosomal microarray revealed a duplication of the most of the short arm of chromosome 17 (size ~19.09 Mb) along with a cryptic deletion of a small segment of 17p terminal end (17pter) (~261 Kb). This is the first report of molecular characterization of near-complete T17P from inverted duplication in association with 17pter microdeletion. The fine delineation of the extent of genomic aberration by SNP-based microarray could help us better understand the molecular mechanism and genotype-phenotype correlations in T17P syndrome.

The C2B domain is the primary Ca2+ sensor in DOC2B: a structural and functional analysis

DOC2B (double-C2 domain) protein is thought to be a high-affinity Ca(2+) sensor for spontaneous and asynchronous neurotransmitter release. To elucidate the molecular features underlying its physiological role, we determined the crystal structures of its isolated C2A and C2B domains and examined their Ca(2+)-binding properties. We further characterized the solution structure of the tandem domains (C2AB) using small-angle X-ray scattering. In parallel, we tested structure-function correlates with live cell imaging tools. We found that, despite striking structural similarity, C2B binds Ca(2+) with considerably higher affinity than C2A. The C2AB solution structure is best modeled as two domains with a highly flexible orientation and no difference in the presence or absence of Ca(2+). In addition, kinetic studies of C2AB demonstrate that, in the presence of unilamellar vesicles, Ca(2+) binding is stabilized, as reflected by the ~10-fold slower rate of Ca(2+) dissociation than in the absence of vesicles. In cells, isolated C2B translocates to the plasma membrane (PM) with an EC50 of 400 nM while the C2A does not translocate at submicromolar Ca(2+) concentrations, supporting the biochemical observations. Nevertheless, C2AB translocates to the PM with an ~2-fold lower EC50 and to a greater extent than C2B. Our results, together with previous studies, reveal that the C2B is the primary Ca(2+) sensing unit in DOC2B, whereas C2A enhances the interaction of C2AB with the PM.