Insulin receptor substrates (IRSs) are well-known mediators of the insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I signaling pathways. We previously reported that the protein levels of IRS-2, a molecular species of IRS, were upregulated in the livers of rats fed a protein-restricted diet. This study aimed to elucidate the physiological role of IRS-2, whose level increases in response to protein restriction in cultured hepatocyte models. Hepatocyte-derived cell lines subjected to amino acid deprivation showed increased IRS2 mRNA and IRS-2 protein levels due to increased IRS2 transcription and translation, respectively. Amino acid deprivation markedly increased vascular endothelial growth factor-D (VEGF-D) secretion. Remarkably, the amino acid deprivation-induced VEGF-D secretion was suppressed by IRS-2 knockdown and enhanced by IRS-2 overexpression. These results suggest that IRS-2 is an intercellular signaling molecule that extracellularly transmits information on amino acid deprivation stress by regulating the secretion of growth factors such as VEGF-D. Moreover, this function of IRS-2 is distinct from its currently accepted function as a mediator of the insulin/IGF-I signaling pathways. This study demonstrates that IRS-2 can modulate protein secretion in an insulin-independent manner and greatly expands our understanding of the role of IRS-2, which is upregulated in response to amino acid deprivation.
Keywords: IRS-2; VEGF-D; amino acid deprivation; stress response.