Modulation of β-catenin signaling by glucagon receptor activation

PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e33676. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0033676. Epub 2012 Mar 16.

Abstract

The glucagon receptor (GCGR) is a member of the class B G protein-coupled receptor family. Activation of GCGR by glucagon leads to increased glucose production by the liver. Thus, glucagon is a key component of glucose homeostasis by counteracting the effect of insulin. In this report, we found that in addition to activation of the classic cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA) pathway, activation of GCGR also induced β-catenin stabilization and activated β-catenin-mediated transcription. Activation of β-catenin signaling was PKA-dependent, consistent with previous reports on the parathyroid hormone receptor type 1 (PTH1R) and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1R) receptors. Since low-density-lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 (Lrp5) is an essential co-receptor required for Wnt protein mediated β-catenin signaling, we examined the role of Lrp5 in glucagon-induced β-catenin signaling. Cotransfection with Lrp5 enhanced the glucagon-induced β-catenin stabilization and TCF promoter-mediated transcription. Inhibiting Lrp5/6 function using Dickkopf-1(DKK1) or by expression of the Lrp5 extracellular domain blocked glucagon-induced β-catenin signaling. Furthermore, we showed that Lrp5 physically interacted with GCGR by immunoprecipitation and bioluminescence resonance energy transfer assays. Together, these results reveal an unexpected crosstalk between glucagon and β-catenin signaling, and may help to explain the metabolic phenotypes of Lrp5/6 mutations.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / metabolism
  • Glucagon / agonists
  • Glucagon / pharmacology
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 / pharmacology
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Hepatocytes / drug effects
  • Hepatocytes / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Related Protein-5 / genetics
  • Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Related Protein-5 / metabolism
  • Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Related Protein-6 / genetics
  • Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Related Protein-6 / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Receptors, Glucagon / genetics
  • Receptors, Glucagon / metabolism*
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • Transfection
  • beta Catenin / metabolism*

Substances

  • CTNNB1 protein, human
  • CTNNB1 protein, mouse
  • GLP1R protein, human
  • Glp1r protein, mouse
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor
  • LRP5 protein, human
  • LRP6 protein, human
  • Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Related Protein-5
  • Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Related Protein-6
  • Lrp5 protein, mouse
  • Lrp6 protein, mouse
  • Receptors, Glucagon
  • beta Catenin
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide 1
  • Glucagon
  • Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases