1Department of Pathology and Centre for Neuroscience, The University of Melbourne and Mental Health Research Institute, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia 2Neurosignalling Group, Garvan Institute for Medical Research, 384 Victoria St. Darlinghurst, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia 3Membrane Biology Group, Centre for Integrative Physiology, University of Edinburgh, George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9XD, UK 4 ...

Phosphorylation of beta-catenin, a central downstream component of the Wnt pathway, by glycogen synthase kinase 3 is essential for its targeted degradation by the proteosome. New studies show that casein kinase 1 primes beta-catenin for subsequent phophorylation by glycogen synthase kinase 3.

Insulin signaling pathways potentially involved in regulation of skeletal muscle glycogen synthase were compared in differentiated human muscle cell cultures from nondiabetic and type 2 diabetic patients. Insulin stimulation of glycogen synthase activity as well as phosphorylation of MAPK, p70 S6 kinase, and protein kinase B (Akt) were blocked by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitors wor...

Rictor is an essential component of mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) complex 2 (mTORC2), a kinase complex that phosphorylates Akt at Ser473 upon activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI-3 kinase). Since little is known about the role of either rictor or mTORC2 in PI-3 kinase-mediated physiological processes in adult animals, we generated muscle-specific rictor knockout mice. Muscle f...

This study investigated the relationship between antiapoptotic activities induced by activated protein C and endoplasmic reticulum stress. In this study, it was observed that activated protein C elicited a rise in glucose-regulated protein 78 and glycogen synthase kinase-3β and inhibited apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells induced by lipopolysaccharide. Calcium inhibition did no...

A purified commercial preparation of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1) has been shown to dephosphorylate several phosphoproteins including bovine heart glycogen synthase D, mixed phosphohistones, and rabbit skeletal muscle phosphorylase kinase but not rabbit skeletal muscle glycogen phosphorylase. Alkaline phosphatase completely removed phosphate groups previously added during ...

Glycogen synthase has been purified from the obliquely striated muscle of the swine parasite Ascaris suum. The muscle contains a concentration of glycogen synthase and glycogen which is 20-fold and 15-fold, respectively, greater than rabbit skeletal muscle. The enzyme could not be solubilized with salivary amylase, but partial solubilization was achieved by activation of endogenous phosphorylas...

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) pose an increasingly prevalent threat to the well-being and survival of elderly individuals worldwide. NDDs include Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s (PD), Huntington’s (HD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), so on. They are characterized by progressive loss or dysfunction neurons in central peripheral nervous system share several cellular molecular mech...

Background Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides have been reported to exert neuroprotective and antidepressant-like effects in the forced swim test in mice. However, the mechanisms that underlie the antidepressant-like effects of Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides are unclear. Methods Chronic unpredictable stress and forced swim test were used to explore the antidepressant-like effects of M...