GH modulation of EGF-induced PI3K-AKT signal in mouse liver

DÍAZ ME, GONZÁLEZ L, MIQUET JG, MARTINEZ CS, SOTELO AI, TURYN D

Los Cocos, Córdoba, Argentina

Congreso; The First South American Spring Symposium in Signal Transduction and Molecular Medicine (SISTAM); 2010

Signal Transduction and Molecular Medicine

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and growth hormone (GH) have been related to hepatocellular carcinoma development. Taking into account that the PI3K-Akt pathway is involved in tumorogenesis and the EGFR is transactivated by GH, the GH modulation of EGF-induced PI3K-Akt pathway was studied in liver. With this purpose, protein content and phosphorylation levels of PI3K-Akt pathway mediators were studied in the liver of transgenic mice that overexpress GH and in their normal siblings.Transgenic mice had a diminished response to EGF stimulation: Akt activation was reduced and its substrates, GSK3 and mTOR, were not phosphorylated even when they were overexpressed. This desensitization was not associated to diminished activity of PDK1, a kinase involved in Akt activation, or to hyperactivation of PTEN, a phosphatase involved in PI3K-Akt pathway inhibition. In contrast, overexpressed GH was associated with the reduction of Gab1 levels, a docking protein that allows PI3K activation, which might explain the decreased EGF-induction of the PI3K-Akt pathway. Moreover, increased SHP2 in membranes from transgenic mice and association of this phosphatase to Gab1 could result in the reduced activation of Akt observed in the transgenic mice.