Synapses of amphids defective (SAD-A) kinase promotes glucose-stimulated insulin secretion through activation of p21-activated kinase (PAK1) in pancreatic β-cells

Jia Nie, Chao Sun, Omar Faruque, Guangming Ye, Jia Li, Qiangrong Liang, Zhijie Chang, Wannian Yang, Xiao Han, Yuguang Shi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

The p21-activated kinase-1 (PAK1) is implicated in regulation of insulin exocytosis as an effector of Rho GTPases. PAK1 is activated by the onset of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) through phosphorylation of Thr-423, a major activation site by Cdc42 and Rac1. However, the kinase(s) that phosphorylates PAK1 at Thr-423 in islet β-cells remains elusive. The present studies identified SAD-A (synapses of amphids defective), a member of AMP-activated protein kinase-related kinases exclusively expressed in brain and pancreas, as a key regulator of GSIS through activation of PAK1.Weshow thatSAD-Adirectly binds to PAK1 through its kinase domain. The interaction is mediated by the p21-binding domain (PBD) of PAK1 and requires both kinases in an active conformation. The binding leads to direct phosphorylation of PAK1 at Thr-423 by SAD-A, triggering the onset of GSIS from islet β-cells. Consequently, ablation ofPAK1 kinase activity or depletion of PAK1 expression completely abolishes the potentiating effect of SAD-A on GSIS. Consistent with its role in regulating GSIS, overexpression of SAD-A in MIN6 islet β-cells significantly stimulated cytoskeletal remodeling, which is required for insulin exocytosis. Together, the present studies identified a critical role of SAD-A in the activation of PAK1 during the onset of insulin exocytosis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)26435-26444
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Biological Chemistry
Volume287
Issue number31
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 27 2012
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Cell Biology

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