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DATE2023.02.22 #Press Releases

Shining light on an enzyme reveals its role in metabolism

 

Akt2, an enzyme involved in insulin-regulated metabolism, is crucial for initiating the synthesis of energy and nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA 

Two-minute podcast

February 22, 2023

  

Takeaki Ozawa and his team from the University of Tokyo reveal the metabolic reactions upon activating an enzyme called Akt2. In doing so, they reveal the inner workings of insulin-regulated metabolism. The findings lead the way for Akt2-targeting therapeutics for diabetes and metabolic disorders. 

 

It takes energy to do anything—even to exist. You can metabolize food to convert glucose into energy: thanks to many cascades of molecular reactions within your cells. As soon as you eat, your pancreas secretes insulin hormone, which starts various metabolic processes. As if it were a game of molecular relay, insulin binding to its receptors triggers a communication chain via the molecular reactions mediated by enzymes called kinases. Akt2 is one such kinase involved in insulin-regulated cellular metabolic processes. 

 

“Cellular metabolism includes many molecular pathways that regulate nutrient storage and energy production—all influenced or controlled by insulin. We know many of the key players involved in insulin pathways. But we are now interested in how these players play a role as individuals,” Ozawa said when asked about their motivation to study Akt2. 

 

But it is not an easy task. Cellular metabolism is like a busy market with RNAs, proteins, and metabolites working simultaneously. That makes studying a specific biomolecule in the process challenging. And even if one biomolecule doesn’t function normally, it leads to metabolic disorders such as diabetes. So, Ozawa and his team set on to tackle this challenging problem.  

 

They used a new analytical method called “transomics” analysis, paired with “optogenetics” technology. Optogenetics technology allowed the researchers to specifically activate Akt2 by shining light onto light-sensitive Akt2 molecules inside cells. When they turn a light on, all the Akt2 molecules assemble at the cell membrane. Turn the light off, the Akt2 is inactivated (see Image 1). Transomics analysis combines large-scale data of biomolecules involved in the metabolic process: proteins (proteomics), expressed genes or RNA transcripts (transcriptomics), and metabolites (metabolomics).  

 

To understand the consequences of Akt2 activation, the researchers activated Akt2 in mouse skeletal muscle cells. Then they collected large-scale data on the biomolecules produced or degraded soon after. The transomics analysis revealed the molecular network triggered by Akt2 activation. 

 


Image 1. Overview of the research project. The team collected large-scale datasets of cellular biomolecules’ expression profiles upon Akt2-specific activation. They combined the data to get a unified view of the molecular networks regulated by Akt2. 

 

To their surprise, Akt2 uses different regulation mechanisms compared to insulin. The Akt2-regulated network included 9 genes, 56 metabolic enzymes, and 23 metabolites. But the insulin-regulated network included 32 genes, 43 metabolic enzymes, and 18 metabolites. In some metabolic reactions, Akt2 acts alone; in others, it acts with other enzymes.  Notably, Akt2 plays a vital role in initiating glycolysis which involves breaking down glucose to produce energy, and nucleotide metabolism which involves synthesizing or breaking down DNA and RNA.  

 

“These results can contribute to elucidating the mechanisms of disease onset caused by mutations in Akt2 function," Ozawa said. "They can also help the development of drugs targeting Akt2. The analytical framework used in this study is applicable to other biomolecules. So, this approach is versatile to analyze the function of a specific enzyme inside a cell." 

Image 2. An Akt2-regulated molecular network. Its role in glycolysis and nucleotide metabolism stands out from the molecular network. 

 

Publication details

 

Journal

Science Signaling  

Title

Optogenetic decoding of Akt2-regulated metabolic signaling pathways in skeletal musclecells using transomics analysis  

Authors

Genki Kawamura, Toshiya Kokaji, Kentaro Kawata, Yuka Sekine, Yutaka Suzuki, Tomoyoshi Soga, Yoshibumi Ueda, Mizuki Endo, Shinya Kuroda, Takeaki Ozawa 

DOI
10.1126/scisignal.abn0782

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Podcast credits
Music and sound effect: "Dream-Of-Grandeur" Zapsplat.com

Podcast host: Ravindra Palavalli-Nettimi