IGF-I regulated phosphorylation and translocation of PDK-1 in neurons

3′-Phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK-1) is a crucial serine/threonine kinase in the insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I)/AKT signaling pathway, but its function and localization in the nervous system has not been fully characterized. In this study, we compared the localization of PDK-1 in adult neurons and non-neuronal PC-3 cells. We showed that PC-3 cells expressed phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated PDK-1 in the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm. In contrast, neuronal PDK-1 was located in the nucleoplasm and the phosphorylated form was located along the perinuclear region. Furthermore, we found that IGF-I transiently increased phosphorylation of neuronal PDK-1, resulting in its translocation to other cellular compartments. Our findings suggest that IGF-I may regulate neuronal PDK-1 differently than in non-neuronal cells, which may indicate a novel role for PDK-1 in IGF-I-mediated neuroprotective signaling.