Stabilization of beta-catenin by inhibiting the activity of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta has been shown to initiate axis formation or axial patterning processes in many bilaterians. In hydra, the head organizer is located in the hypostome, the apical portion of the head. Treatment of hydra with alsterpaullone, a specific inhibitor of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta, results in the body column ...

Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is a critical, negative regulator of diverse signaling pathways. Lithium is a direct inhibitor of GSK-3 and has been widely used to test the putative role of GSK-3 in multiple settings. However, lithium also inhibits other targets, including inositol monophosphatase and structurally related phosphomonoesterases, and thus additional approaches are needed to att...

To investigate the mechanism of ketamine promoting Alzheimer’s-like neurodegeneration in mice. 24 male 8 w old Kunming mice specific pathogen-free grade were randomly divided into a blank control group (control group) and intervention (experimental according to random number table, 12 each group. The experimental given injection at dose 30 mg/kg. Mice an equal volume normal saline injection. wa...

OBJECTIVE Glucose homeostasis is achieved by triggering regulation of glycogen synthesis genes in response to insulin when mammals feed, but the underlying molecular mechanism remains largely unknown. The aim of our study was to examine the role of the signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3) in insulin signaling. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We generated a strain of mice c...

Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3), a protein-serine kinase implicated in cell-fate determination and differentiation, phosphorylates several regulatory proteins that are activated by dephosphorylation in response to hormones or growth factors. GSK-3 beta is phosphorylated in vitro at serine 9 by p70 S6 kinase and p90rsk-1, resulting in its inhibition [Sutherland, Leighton, and Cohen (1993) Bio...

c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) is highly expressed in skeletal muscle and is robustly activated in response to muscle contraction. Little is known about the biological functions of JNK signaling in terminally differentiated muscle cells, although this protein has been proposed to regulate insulin-stimulated glycogen synthase activity in mouse skeletal muscle. To determine whether JNK signali...

The yeast Snf1 kinase and its mammalian ortholog, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), regulate responses to metabolic stress. Previous studies identified a glycogen-binding domain in the AMPK beta1 subunit, and the sequence is conserved in the Snf1 kinase beta subunits Gal83 and Sip2. Here we use genetic analysis to assess the role of this domain in vivo. Alteration of Gal83 at residues that a...

Dysregulation of the protein kinase glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) has been implicated in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. GSK-3 protein expression and kinase activity are elevated in diabetes, while selective GSK-3 inhibitors have shown promise as modulators of glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. There are two GSK-3 isoforms in mammals, GSK-3alpha and GSK-3beta. Mice en...