TRB3: a tribbles homolog that inhibits Akt/PKB activation by insulin in liver

Science. 2003 Jun 6;300(5625):1574-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1079817.

Abstract

Insulin resistance is a major hallmark in the development of type II diabetes, which is characterized by the failure of insulin to promote glucose uptake in muscle and to suppress glucose production in liver. The serine-threonine kinase Akt (PKB) is a principal target of insulin signaling that inhibits hepatic glucose output when glucose is available from food. Here we show that TRB3, a mammalian homolog of Drosophila tribbles, functions as a negative modulator of Akt. TRB3 expression is induced in liver under fasting conditions, and TRB3 disrupts insulin signaling by binding directly to Akt and blocking activation of the kinase. Amounts of TRB3 RNA and protein were increased in livers of db/db diabetic mice compared with those in wild-type mice. Hepatic overexpression of TRB3 in amounts comparable to those in db/db mice promoted hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance. Our results suggest that, by interfering with Akt activation, TRB3 contributes to insulin resistance in individuals with susceptibility to type II diabetes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adenoviridae / genetics
  • Adenoviridae / physiology
  • Amino Acid Substitution
  • Animals
  • Blood Glucose / metabolism
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / genetics
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / metabolism*
  • Cell Line
  • Diabetes Mellitus / genetics
  • Diabetes Mellitus / metabolism
  • Enzyme Activation
  • Fasting
  • Genetic Vectors
  • Glucose / metabolism
  • Glucose Intolerance
  • Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Insulin / blood
  • Insulin / metabolism*
  • Insulin Resistance
  • Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / pharmacology
  • Liver / metabolism*
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Phosphorylation
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / metabolism*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
  • RNA Interference
  • Rats
  • Repressor Proteins
  • Signal Transduction
  • Transfection
  • Transgenes
  • Tumor Cells, Cultured
  • Two-Hybrid System Techniques

Substances

  • Blood Glucose
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Insulin
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • Repressor Proteins
  • TRB3 protein, mouse
  • TRIB3 protein, human
  • Insulin-Like Growth Factor I
  • AKT1 protein, human
  • Akt1 protein, rat
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
  • Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3
  • Glucose