tribbles: Biological Overview | Evolutionary Homologs | Regulation | Developmental Biology | Effects of Mutation | References

Gene name - tribbles

Synonyms

Cytological map position - 77B6--9

Function - signal transduction

Keywords - cell cycle, protein degradation pathway

Symbol - trbl

FlyBase ID: FBgn0028978

Genetic map position - 3-

Classification - serine/threonine kinase-like domain

Cellular location - cytoplasmic and nuclear



NCBI link: Entrez Gene
trbl orthologs: Biolitmine
Recent literature
LaFerriere, H. and Zars, T. (2017). The Drosophila melanogaster tribbles pseudokinase is necessary for proper memory formation. Neurobiol Learn Mem 144: 68-76. PubMed ID: 28669782
Summary:
The tribbles (trbl) pseudokinases play important roles in signaling and physiology in multiple contexts, ranging from innate immunity to cancer, suggesting fundamental cellular functions for the trbl gene products. Despite expression of the trbl pseudokinases in the nervous systems of invertebrate and vertebrate animals, and evidence that they have a function within mouse and human dopamine neurons, there is no clear case for a function of a Trbl protein that influences behavior. Indeed, the first and only evidence for this type of function comes from Drosophila melanogaster, where a mutation of the single trbl gene was identified in a genetic screen for short-term memory mutant flies. The current study tested flies containing multiple trbl mutant alleles and potential transgenic rescue in both operant place memory and classical olfactory memory paradigms. Genetic complementation tests and transgenic rescue of memory phenotypes in both paradigms show that the D. melanogaster trbl pseudokinase is essential for proper memory formation. Expression analysis with a polyclonal antiserum against Trbl shows that the protein is expressed widely in the fly brain, with higher expression in the cellular rind than the neuropil. Rescue of the behavioral phenotype with transgenic expression indicates the trbl function can be localized to a subset of the nervous system. Thus, this study provides the first compelling case for the function of a trbl pseudokinase in the regulation of behavior.
Liu, B., Sung, H. W. and Grosshans, J. (2019). Multiple functions of the essential gene PpV in Drosophila early development. G3 (Bethesda). PubMed ID: 31484673
Summary:
Protein phosphatase V (PpV) encodes the Drosophila homologue of the evolutionarily conserved Protein Phosphatase 6 (PP6). The physiological and developmental functions of PpV/PP6 have not been well characterized due to lack of a genetically defined mutant. This study identified a PpV non-sense mutation and describes multiple mutant phenotypes in oogenesis and early embryogenesis. Specifically, it was found that the defects in chromosome segregation during nuclear cycles are related to AuroraA function, which is consistent with the interaction of PP6 and AuroraA in mammalian cells. Surprisingly, a PpV function was identified specifically in blastoderm cell cycle but not in cell proliferation in the follicle epithelium or larval wing imaginal discs. Embryos from PpV germline clones frequently undergo an extra nuclear division cycle. By epistasis analysis, it was found that PpV functions in parallel with tribbles, but independently of auroraA for the remodeling of the nuclear cycles. Taken together, this study reports novel developmental functions of PpV and provides a framework for further genetic analysis under physiological conditions.
Nayak, N. and Mishra, M. (2021). High fat diet induced abnormalities in metabolism, growth, behavior, and circadian clock in Drosophila melanogaster. Life Sci 281: 119758. PubMed ID: 34175317
Summary:
The current lifestyle trend has made people vulnerable to diabetes and related diseases. Years of scientific research have not been able to yield a cure to the disease completely. The current study aims to investigate a link between high-fat diet mediated diabesity and circadian rhythm in the Drosophila model and inferences that might help in establishing a cure to the dreaded disease. Several experimental methods including phenotypical, histological, biochemical, molecular, and behavioral assays were used in the study to detect obesity, diabetes, and changes in the circadian clock in the fly model. The larva and adults of Drosophila melanogaster exposed to high-fat diet (HFD) displayed excess deposition of fat as lipid droplets and micronuclei formation in the gut, fat body, and crop. Larva and adults of HFD showed behavioral defects. The higher amount of triglyceride, glucose, trehalose in the whole body of larva and adult fly confirmed obesity-induced hyperglycemia. The overexpression of insulin gene (Dilp2) and tribble (trbl) gene expression confirmed insulin resistance in HFD adults. Elevated ROS level, developmental delay, altered metal level, growth defects, locomotory rhythms, sleep fragmentation, and expression of circadian genes (per, tim, and clock) were observed in HFD larva and adults. Thus, HFD impairs the metabolism to produce obesity, insulin resistance, disruption of clock, and circadian clock related co-mordities in D. melanogaster. The circadian gene expression provides an innovative perspective to understand and find a new treatment for type-II diabetes and circadian anomalies.
Noguchi, K., Yokozeki, K., Tanaka, Y., Suzuki, Y., Nakajima, K., Nishimura, T. and Goda, N. (2021). Sima, a Drosophila homolog of HIF-1alpha, in fat body tissue inhibits larval body growth by inducing Tribbles gene expression. Genes Cells. PubMed ID: 34918430
Summary:
Limited oxygen availability impairs normal body growth, although the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In Drosophila, hypoxic responses in the larval fat body (FB) disturb the secretion of insulin-like peptides from the brain, inhibiting body growth. However, the cell-autonomous effects of hypoxia on the insulin-signaling pathway in larval FB have been underexplored. This study aimed to examine the effects of overexpression of Sima, a Drosophila hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) α homolog and a key component of HIF-1 transcription factor essential for hypoxic adaptation, on the insulin-signaling pathway in larval FB. Forced expression of Sima in FB reduced the larval body growth with reduced Akt phosphorylation levels in FB cells and increased hemolymph sugar levels. Sima-mediated growth inhibition was reversed by overexpression of TOR or suppression of FOXO. After Sima overexpression, larvae showed higher expression levels of Tribbles, a negative regulator of Akt activity, and a simultaneous knockdown of Tribbles completely abolished the effects of Sima on larval body growth. Furthermore, a reporter analysis revealed Tribbles as a direct target gene of Sima. These results suggest that Sima in FB evokes Tribbles-mediated insulin resistance and consequently protects against aberrant insulin-dependent larval body growth under hypoxia.
Popovic, R., Yu, Y., Leal, N. S., Fedele, G., Loh, S. H. Y. and Martins, L. M. (2023). Upregulation of Tribbles decreases body weight and increases sleep duration. Dis Model Mech 16(4). PubMed ID: 37083954
Summary:
Eukaryotic Tribbles proteins are pseudoenzymes that regulate multiple aspects of intracellular signalling. Both Drosophila melanogaster and mammalian members of this family of pseudokinases act as negative regulators of insulin signalling. Mammalian tribbles pseudokinase (TRIB) genes have also been linked to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with increased body weight, sleep problems and increased long-term mortality. This study investigated how manipulating the expression of Tribbles impacts body weight, sleep and mortality. Overexpression of Drosophila tribbles (trbl) in the fly fat body reduces both body weight and lifespan in adult flies without affecting food intake. Furthermore, it decreases the levels of Drosophila insulin-like peptide 2 (DILP2; ILP2) and increases night-time sleep. The three genes encoding TRIBs of mammals, TRIB1, TRIB2 and TRIB3, show both common and unique features. As the three human TRIB genes share features with Drosophila trbl, this study further explored the links between TRIB genetic variants and both body weight and sleep in the human population. Associations were identified between the polymorphisms and expression levels of the pseudokinases and markers of body weight and sleep duration. It is concluded that Tribbles pseudokinases are involved in the control of body weight, lifespan and sleep.
BIOLOGICAL OVERVIEW

Tribbles activity regulates cell cycle by directly and posttranscriptionally affecting String expression. The Cdc25 protein String achieves mitotic activation by hydrolyzing phospho-tyrosine 15 of the cyclin dependent kinase Cdc2, thus activating Cdc2. string is transcribed in a spatial pattern controlled by the anterior-posterior and dorsoventral patterning systems. Expression of String mRNA in a given mitotic domain precedes mitosis by a few minutes. By analyzing the exception to this rule found in domain 10 on the ventral side at the embryo, the tribbles mode of regulation was uncovered. Although string is expressed in these cells, they do not divide until they are internalized. This delay depends on the activity of the tribbles gene (Seher, 2000) named after the small, round, fictional organisms (from the television series "Star Trek") that proliferate uncontrollably when they contact water. The tribbles effect is restricted to the ventral furrow, even though TRBL mRNA is also present outside of this domain and the trbl mutation can be rescued by uniform exogeneous expression. This suggests that trbl activity is triggered by an input which is present only in the ventral furrow region (Großhans, 2000). Tribbles acts by specifically inducing degradation of the CDC25 mitotic activators String and Twine via the proteosome pathway. By regulating CDC25, Tribbles serves to coordinate entry into mitosis with morphogenesis and cell fate determination (Mata, 2000).

tribbles was identified by three screens: (1) a screen designed to identify loci required for a delayed mitosis in domain 10 (Großhans, 2000); (2) a deficiency screen for mutations that disrupt gastrulation (Seher, 2000), and (3) a screen for genes that when overexpressed in the germline would affect oogenesis (Mata, 2000), In the first screen, embryos deficient for trbl, and for a second uncharacterized mutant frühstart, mitotis takes place prematurely in the ventral domain, such that their pattern of String mRNA expression and the mitotic pattern match each other (Großhans, 2000). In the second screen, the deficiency of tribbles results in the improper formation of the ventral furrow (Seher, 2000). In the third screen (Mata, 2000), an insertion in a vector designed to be overexpressed in the germline produced 32 cell oocytes (cysts) instead of the usual 16 cell oocyte (1 egg and 15 nurse cells).

Tribbles function was examined by assessing the effects of overexpression in imaginal disc cells. The effect of expressing tribbles in wing imaginal discs was assessed using engrailed-GAL4 to drive expression in the posterior compartment. The anterior compartment served as control tissue. The resulting wings had a posterior compartment of close to normal size and pattern, but apparently made up of fewer, larger cells. This interpretation was confirmed by looking directly at the disc, where the cells expressing tribbles, the posterior cells, were found to be fewer and larger than control cells. This type of effect is typical of severe cell cycle delays. Since the effect is confined to one compartment, the wild-type (anterior) cells cannot out-compete the tribbles overexpressing cells. To confirm that tribbles affects the cell cycle and to determine what phase is being affected, cells size analysis, using green fluorescent protein marked cells, was performed on tribbles-expressing cells. Expression of tribbles results in a 4- to 5-fold decrease in the number of cells. DNA content indicates that almost all of these cells are in G2/M. It is concluded that tribbles overexpression slows the G2 phase of wing imaginal disc cells substantially (Mata, 2000).

String/CDC25 phosphatase is required for G2/M progression in imaginal disc cells. Cells homozygous for a hypomorphic string mutation can grow but they divide very slowly and thus become very large, similar to the tribbles overexpression phenotype. Given that string is a limiting regulator in G2 of imaginal disc cells, it was asked whether increased expression of string would affect the tribbles GOF phenotype. Expression of UAS-string under control of engrailed-GAL4 did not give an overt wing phenotype. When UAS-string is coexpressed with UAS-tribbles, the posterior compartment reverts to the normal cell number and density. Thus, overexpression of string suppresses the effect of tribbles overexpression in imaginal disc cells. In the germline of the ovary, overexpression of string also suppresses the extra cystocyte division phenotype caused by tribbles expression. Thus, despite the apparent differences in cell cycle control mechanisms, tribbles opposes or downregulates string/CDC25 in both the wing disc and the germline (Mata, 2000).

To see whether overexpression of tribbles affects String protein levels, discs were double-stained with anti-String and anti-Tribbles antibodies. Cells that overexpress tribbles do not show normal levels of endogenous String protein. String expression in third instar larval discs is nonuniform due to asynchronous cycling of the cells. By counting expressing and nonexpressing cells in several discs, it was verified that String-expressing cells do not express Tribbles. The lack of cells coexpressing String and Tribbles could not be explained by cells being in the wrong phase of the cell cycle to accumulate String, since overexpression of tribbles delays cells in G2, the phase of the cell cycle in which String protein normally accumulates. Expression of tribbles also affects the level of String protein when both were overexpressed by the GAL4/UAS system. The overall level of overexpressed String protein is clearly reduced by Tribbles, although not to background levels. The simplest interpretation of these results is that Tribbles directly and posttranscriptionally affects String expression (Mata, 2000).

To investigate the interaction between tribbles and string under more controlled conditions, tissue culture experiments were carried out. The CDC25 homologs String and Twine, and the mitotic Cyclins A and B, were epitope tagged at the N terminus and cloned into the metallothionine expression vector. When cotransfected into Schneider cells, expression of Tribbles severely reduced the level of HA-String. This reduction in protein level was observed without any change in HA-String mRNA levels. Tribbles has a similar effect on HA-Twine protein levels, although less severe, but has no effect on the mitotic Cyclins A and B. Given that the promoter, the 5'UTR and 3'UTRs as well as the initiator methionine and N-terminal epitope tag were identical in the HA constructs, it was reasoned that Tribbles might be acting by increasing String (and Twine) protein turnover. To test this hypothesis, the proteosome inhibitor lactacystin was used. Addition of lactacystin reverses the effect of Tribbles on HA-String protein. This indicates that Tribbles induces degradation of String protein via a proteosome-dependent pathway. To confirm this, a pulse-chase experiment was performed. As expected, metabolically labeled HA-String disappears more rapidly in the presence of Tribbles. Mitotic cyclins are also degraded via the proteosome, stimulated by anaphase-promoting complex (APC). Because Cyclin levels are unaffected by Tribbles, it has been concluded that Tribbles regulates CDC25 protein turnover in a specific manner, not just by generally increasing proteosome activity (Mata, 2000).

The involvment of tribbles in regulating mitosis during gastrulation is documented by Großhans, 2000 and Seher, 2000 (for a description of the Seher study, see Effects of Mutation). During gastrulation, new cells, formed during the first 13 cell cycles, change their shape, and morphogenetic movements rearrange their positions relative to one another. One of the most prominent of these morphogenetic movements is the formation of the ventral furrow, which brings the mesoderm anlage into the interior of the embryo. After the first 13 divisions, cell division ceases, only to resume during gastrulation. During this time mitosis occurs in an asynchronous manner, independently, in at least 25 domains. This asynchrony allows morphogenesis and cell division to occur simultaneously in different regions of the embryo and sequentially in specific primordia. For example, the ventral-most cells first form the ventral furrow and only after this invagination is completed, do they enter mitosis (Großhans, 2000).

Entry into mitosis is positively controlled by String, the homolog of Cdc25, which is both necessary and sufficient for mitosis during gastrulation. The expression pattern of String mRNA closely matches the mitotic pattern. During the cleavage stage String mRNA is uniformly distributed, but then degraded at the pause in mitosis and the transition to cellularization. String mRNA subsequently reappears at the beginning of gastrulation in a pattern preceding the mitotic domains. In all domains except one, mitosis starts a few minutes after String mRNA is expressed. Mitotic domain 10, which comprises most of the mesoderm anlage, behaves differently: the gap between String mRNA expression and entry into mitosis is much longer (Großhans, 2000).

The delay in their mitosis suggests that ventral cells contain a factor lengthening the gap between appearance of String mRNA and entry into mitosis. This delay involves a subtle titration of string activity, since it can be shortened by addition of two more copies of the string chromosomal region, raising the copy number of string to four. Under these conditions the ventral cells divide at about the same time as the cells of domains 1 to 3, which matches the String mRNA pattern more closely than it does in wild-type embryos. Only the mitosis in domain 10 is shifted in these experiments, the order mitosis in the other mitotic domains is not changed (Großhans, 2000).

To examine more stringently whether the factor counteracting string is specific for ventral cells, exogeneous String mRNA was expressed at the same level in all cells of the embryo, using a UAS-String transgene driven by a maternally provided Gal4 in embryos otherwise homozygous for a string deletion. Four copies of maternally provided Gal4 produce high levels of string activity, indicated by the uniform entry of all cells into mitosis immediately at the beginning of gastrulation. In these embryos ventral furrow formation is inhibited. Using females with three or two Gal4 insertions, expression of string was gradually lowered. This shifts the onset of mitosis to a time when the first mitoses normally occur in wild-type embryos. Under these conditions differences in the behavior of the cells become apparent. In spite of the uniform string expression, the ventral cells undergoing cell shape changes to form the ventral furrow enter mitosis later than the other cells. This special behavior of the ventral cells is not observed in string heterozygous embryos that have endogeneous as well as exogeneous String mRNA. It is concluded from these experiments that ventral cells contain a dosage-sensitive factor, the ventral inhibitor, that counteracts string activity and that the delay of mitosis in domain 10 of wild-type embryos is due to this factor (Großhans, 2000).

In order to identify components that constitute the ventral inhibitor, a genome-wide screen was carried out for loci that are required for a delayed mitosis in domain 10. By screening 99% of the genome, two novel loci, frühstart and tribbles, were identified. In embryos deficient for either of these genes, cells in the ventral domain are the first to enter mitosis, such that their pattern of String mRNA expression and the mitotic pattern match one another. The order of the other mitotic domains is not altered, suggesting that frs and trbl act specifically in the ventral cells. The double mutant frs trbl shows the same phenotype as the single mutants, suggesting that frs and trbl are nonredundant genes in a common process (Großhans, 2000).

As a consequence of the early mitosis, the mesodermal precursors remain on the surface and do not form a proper ventral furrow. This defect is similar to that observed in embryos in which all cells have been forced into mitosis by increased string dosage or string overexpression. Although other zygotically active genes are known to affect formation of the ventral furrow, frs and trbl are unique in that their defects solely depend on the premature mitosis. In double mutant frs string and trbl string embryos, no mitosis takes place during gastrulation, and the ventral furrow forms as in wild-type. The premature mitosis in frs or trbl embryos is not caused by overexpression of String mRNA in the ventral region, since String mRNA is present in comparable amounts in mutant embryos and with a similar pattern as in their heterozygous siblings or wild-type embryos. Since String is the rate-limiting factor for entry into mitosis during gastrulation, this observation suggests that frs and trbl counteract string via a posttranscriptional mechanism (Großhans, 2000).

In embryos mutant for either snail or twist, no ventral furrow forms and cells are shifted to more lateral fates. String mRNA is not present in domain 10 and mitotic patterns in the ventral region of these mutant embryos are difficult to evaluate. String mRNA is restored to wild-type levels in the prospective domain 10 of snail mutants carrying three copies of wild-type twist. In such mutants, the ventral cells are the first ones to divide, indicating that snail is required for the function of the ventral inhibitor. One possibility would be that the persistence of trbl expression in the ventral region requires mesodermal determination and thus wild-type snail activity. However, snail mutants show a normal pattern of trbl expression and maintain trbl expression in the ventral domain. Similarly, in twist homozygous mutants and in embryos homozygous for deficiencies for frs the expression of trbl is not changed. Because snail embryos do not show a ventral mitotic inhibition, even though their trbl expression is normal, it is concluded that some aspect of mesodermal determination mediated by snail is required for Trbl activation (Großhans, 2000).

To directly investigate the activity of trbl on mitosis, the rapid cell cycle of cleavage stage embryos was used as an assay. trbl is not yet expressed during this stage: it appears only at the beginning of cellularization when the rapid nuclear divisions stop. Large amounts of synthetic Trbl mRNA were injected into the posterior half of the embryos: the subsequent nuclear divisions were followed, and the embryos were fixed before reaching gastrulation. In addition, the progression of the cell cycle after injection was recorded in embryos that express a GFP-Histone fusion protein that labels interphase and mitotic chromosomes. The nuclei at the injection site do not participate in the last mitosis (13th division) resulting in larger nuclei and lower density at the injection site. As a negative control for this assay, mRNA of the unrelated serine-threonine protein kinase Pelle was injected. This did not inhibit mitosis. Since presence of trbl alone is not sufficient to inhibit mitosis and since Trbl requires an additional trigger in the ventral cells, it is possible that this requirement is overridden by providing Trbl mRNA in excess in the microinjection assay (Großhans, 2000).

High fat diet-induced TGF-beta/Gbb signaling provokes insulin resistance through the tribbles expression

Hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and insulin resistance are hallmarks of obesity-induced type 2 diabetes, which is often caused by a high-fat diet (HFD). However, the molecular mechanisms underlying HFD-induced insulin resistance have not been elucidated in detail. This study established a Drosophila model to investigate the molecular mechanisms of HFD-induced diabetes. HFD model flies recapitulate mammalian diabetic phenotypes including elevated triglyceride and circulating glucose levels, as well as insulin resistance. Expression of glass bottom boat (gbb), a Drosophila homolog of mammalian transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), is elevated under HFD conditions. Furthermore, overexpression of gbb in the fat body produced obese and insulin-resistant phenotypes similar to those of HFD-fed flies, whereas inhibition of Gbb signaling significantly ameliorated HFD-induced metabolic phenotypes. tribbles, a negative regulator of AKT, is a target gene of Gbb signaling in the fat body. Overexpression of tribbles in flies in the fat body phenocopied the metabolic defects associated with HFD conditions or Gbb overexpression, whereas tribbles knockdown rescued these metabolic phenotypes. These results indicate that HFD-induced TGF-β/Gbb signaling provokes insulin resistance by increasing tribbles expression (Hong, 2016).

Abnormally high fat mass is a major risk factor for the development of diabetes. Previous studies emphasize that excess adiposity results in abnormal production of cytokines, growth factors, and hormones, which in turn causes secondary diseases like insulin resistance. This study has demonstrated that HFD-induced obesity triggered TGF-β signaling, which downregulates insulin signaling in the fat body. This study also demonstrated the role of tribbles, a novel target of TGF-β/Gbb signaling, in the development of insulin resistance (Hong, 2016).

Drosophila models were used in several recent studies of diet-induced obesity, insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, and hyperinsulinemia. In Drosophila larvae, a high-sugar diet induces type 2 diabetic phenotypes including hyperglycemia, high TG, and insulin resistance. Likewise, in adult flies, HFD feeding also induces high TG and altered glucose metabolism, and in mammals it causes cardiac dysfunctions like diabetic cardiomyopathy. This study has established a Drosophila model of obesity-induced insulin resistance, which has remarkable parallels with the mammalian system, and used it to observe and investigate the development of insulin resistance under chronic over-nutrition conditions. In addition, to study the Drosophila insulin-resistance phenotype in detail, this study has developed an ex vivo culture system (Hong, 2016).

When adult flies were fed a HFD, their short- and long-term metabolic responses were different: for example, expression and secretion of Dilp2 was increased by short-term HFD but decreased by long-term HFD. Insulin signaling, which was assayed by monitoring pAKT activation and expression of the dFOXO target genes d4E-BP and dInR, was activated in short-term but not long-term HFD, whereas TG and trehalose/glucose levels in hemolymph were increased by long-term HFD. Because these pathological phenotypes in flies were very similar to the phenotypes associated with insulin-resistant diabetes in mammals, it is concluded that HFD adult flies can be used as a model of type 2 diabetes (Hong, 2016).

In addition to increasing TG levels, HFD feeding in flies increased the expression of gbb. In mice, inhibition of TGF-β signaling by knockout of Smad3 protects against diet-induced obesity and diabetes. Inhibition of TGF-β signaling may improve adipose function and reverse the effects of obesity on insulin resistance. The TGF-β/Smad3 signaling also plays a key role in adipogenesis. However, it remains unclear how TGF-β signaling is related to the onset of diet-induced obesity and diabetes. This study examined the effects of Drosophila TGF-β family ligands on obesity. Of the genes that were tested, only gbb was upregulated by HFD. Gab regulates lipid metabolism and controls energy homeostasis by responding to nutrient levels (Ballard, 2010); consequently, gbb mutants have extremely low levels of fat in the fat body, resembling a nutrient-deprived phenotype (Ballard, 2010). On the contrary, gbb overexpression increased the TG level, mimicking the effects of nutrient-rich conditions. These data suggest that TGF-β/Gbb signaling is involved in HFD-induced obesity. Indeed, overexpression of gbb in the fat body phenocopied the TG and trehalose/glucose levels in flies fed a HFD. However, Dilp2 expression was increased by gbb overexpression in the fat body, consistent with the effects of short-term but not long-term HFD (Hong, 2016).

Focused was placed on three negative regulators of insulin signaling, PTP1b, PTEN, and tribbles 3 (TRB3), which are involved in insulin resistance in obese mammals. tribbles was upregulated in gbb-overexpressing cells and flies. In mammals, Tribbles encodes an evolutionarily conserved kinase that plays multiple roles in development, tissue homeostasis, and metabolism. A mammalian Tribbles homolog, Tribbles homolog 3 (TRB3), is highly expressed in liver tissue under fasting and diabetic conditions, and inhibits insulin signaling by direct binding to Akt and blocking phosphorylation-dependent Akt activation. Indeed, the expression level of TRB3 is elevated in patients with type 2 diabetes and animal models of this disease. In the systemic sclerosis model, TGF-β signaling can induce mammalian TRB3 and activates TGF-β signaling-mediated fibrosi. Recent work showed that Drosophila tribbles, like mammalian TRB3, inhibits insulin-mediated growth by blocking Akt activation. In this study, tribbles expression was increased in HFD conditions in both mice and flies, as well as in TGF-β-treated human liver cells. tribbles knockdown rescued the diabetic phenotypes caused by HFD, consistent with previous findings in mammals. In addition, tribbles knockdown rescued the diabetic phenotypes caused by gbb overexpression. These data strongly suggest that the evolutionarily conserved tribbles gene is a novel downstream target of Gbb signaling, and that tribbles knockdown rescues diabetic phenotypes in flies. Therefore, future studies should seek to elucidate TGF-β-Trb3 signaling and its functions in mammalian adipocytes; the resultant findings could suggest new strategies for preventing type 2 diabetes (Hong, 2016).

In summary, This study established a Drosophila insulin-resistance model and demonstrated that Gbb signaling in the fat body plays a critical role in obesity-mediated insulin resistance by regulating tribbles expression. These results provide insights regarding the function of Gbb/TGF-β signaling in metabolic disease, and suggest that this pathway represents a promising therapeutic target for treatment of obesity and diabetes (Hong, 2016).

Cell cycle heterogeneity directs the timing of neural stem cell activation from quiescence

Quiescent stem cells in adult tissues can be activated for homeostasis or repair. Neural stem cells (NSCs) in Drosophila are reactivated from quiescence in response to nutrition by the insulin signaling pathway. It is widely accepted that quiescent stem cells are arrested in G0. This study, however, demonstrates that quiescent NSCs (qNSCs) are arrested in either G2 or G0. G2-G0 heterogeneity directs NSC behavior: G2 qNSCs reactivate before G0 qNSCs. In addition, this study shows that the evolutionarily conserved pseudokinase Tribbles (Trbl) induces G2 NSCs to enter quiescence by promoting degradation of Cdc25String and that it subsequently maintains quiescence by inhibiting Akt activation. Insulin signaling overrides repression of Akt and silences trbl transcription, allowing NSCs to exit quiescence. These results have implications for identifying and manipulating quiescent stem cells for regenerative purposes (Otsuki, 2018).

Neural stem cells (NSCs) in Drosophila, like those in mammals, proliferate during embryogenesis, become quiescent in the late embryo, and then proliferate again (reactivate) postembryonically to produce neurons and glia. A nutritional stimulus induces reactivation; specifically, dietary amino acids induce glial cells in the blood- brain barrier to secrete Drosophila insulin-like peptides (dILPs). dILPs activate the insulin signaling pathway in neighboring quiescent NSCs (qNSCs), prompting the NSCs to exit quiescence (Otsuki, 2018).

Quiescent stem cells are widely accepted to be arrested in G0, a poorly understood state characterized by a 2n DNA content and a lack of expression of cell cycle progression factors. This study assessed whether Drosophila qNSCs are arrested in G0. As expected, the M phase marker phospho-histone H3 (pH3) was not detected in qNSCs. Previous studies demonstrated that qNSCs do not express the G1 marker cyclin E or incorporate the S phase marker 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) or 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU). However, it was found that 73% of qNSCs expressed the G2 markers cyclin A (CycA) and cyclin B (CycB). This finding suggests that most qNSCs are arrested in G2 and that qNSCs are arrested heterogeneously in the cell cycle (Otsuki, 2018).

It was verified that ~75% of qNSCs were arrested in G2 by comparing the fluorescent ubiquitination- based cell cycle indicator (FUCCI)-pH3 profiles of qNSCs and proliferating NSCs. CycA-positive (CycA+) qNSCs had twice the DNA content of CycA-negative (CycA-) qNSCs and larger nuclei than CycA- qNSCs. Thus, qNSCs exhibited two types of stem cell quiescence: The majority were arrested in G2, and a minority were arrested in G0. G2 quiescence has not been reported previously for stem cells in mammals or Drosophila (Otsuki, 2018).

The choice of G2 or G0 arrest could be stochastic or preprogrammed. Seven G0 qNSCs were found in the first thoracic hemisegment, T1, and eight G0 qNSCs each in T2 and T3. A consistent subset of qNSCs were always arrested in G0, namely, NB2-2, NB2-4, NB2-5, NB3-4, NB5-3, and NB7-4 (cells are named according to their spatial origin in the neuroectoderm). Of these qNSCs, NB2-4 disappears from T1 during embryogenesis, explaining why fewer qNSCs are arrested in G0 in T1 than in T2 and T3. NB5-4 and NB5-7 were arrested in G2 in 50% of hemisegments but were not always arrested in the same cell cycle phase on either side of the midline. It is concluded that, with the exception of NB5-4 and NB5-7, the choice of G2 or G0 quiescence is entirely invariant (Otsuki, 2018).

Is G2-G0 heterogeneity in qNSCs significant? The reactivation of G2 and G0 qNSCs by tracking the expression of the reactivation marker worniu (wor). More than 86% of G qNSCs reactivated by 20 hours after larval 2 hatching (ALH), compared with 20% of G0 qNSCs. For example, NB3-4, a G0 qNSC, reactivated in fewer than 7% of hemisegments (n = 10 tVNCs, six hemisegments each) . All NSCs reactivated by 48 hours ALH. Thus, G2 qNSCs are faster-reactivating stem cells than G0 qNSCs (Otsuki, 2018).

Next, gene expression was profiled in qNSCs using targeted DamID (TaDa), identifying 1656 genes. Corresponding Gene Ontology (GO) terms included 'nervous system development' (35 genes) and 'neuroblast [NSC] development' (10 genes). To identify quiescence-specific genes, genes common to quiescent and proliferating NSCs, such as deadpan (dpn), were eliminated. tribbles (trbl) is one of the most significantly expressed protein-encoding genes specific to qNSCs. trbl encodes an evolutionarily conserved pseudokinase with three human homologs that have been implicated in insulin and mitogen- activated protein kinase signaling. It was confirmed that trbl labels quiescent but not proliferating NSCs in vivo. To date, no other gene that labels qNSCs specifically has been identified (Otsuki, 2018).

trbl is necessary for quiescence entry, as NSCs continued to divide during late embryogenesis in trbl hypomorphic mutants or when trbl was knocked down specifically in NSCs. trbl regulates quiescence entry specifically, without affecting division mode or cell viability. The ectopically dividing NSCs in the trblEP3519 mutant were G2, not G0, qNSCs. G2 but not G0 qNSCs also became significantly smaller in trblEP3519 mutants. As embryonic NSCs do not regrow between cell divisions, the size reduction is consistent with excessive divisions. Consistent with a function in G2 quiescence, Trbl was expressed primarily in G2 qNSCs (Otsuki, 2018).

Trbl is also required to maintain quiescence. RNA interference-mediated knockdown of trbl in qNSCs caused NSCs to leave quiescence and divide. Transgenic flies were generated carrying upstream activation sequence-green fluorescent protein (GFP)-Trbl and drove expression with grainyhead (grh)-GAL4 (4) to assess whether Trbl is sufficient to maintain G2 quiescence. grh-GAL4 expression is initiated at quiescence entry and occurs in ~67% of NSCs, allowing comparison between neighboring GFP-Trbl-expressing and nonexpressing NSCs. Almost all GFP-Trbl-expressing NSCs remained in G2 quiescence and expressed CycA. GFP-Trbl-expressing NSCs retained the primary process that is extended specifically by quiescent NSCs, unlike control NSCs, which had begun to divide. Thus, Trbl is sufficient to maintain G2 quiescence (Otsuki, 2018).

In the embryonic mesoderm, trbl induces G2 arrest by promoting Cdc25String protein degradation. This study found that Cdc25String protein was reduced in NSCs at quiescence entry but that Cdc25String mRNA was maintained (Fig. 4A). Therefore, Cdc25String is regulated posttranscriptionally at quiescence entry. Significantly more NSCs were positive for Cdc25String protein in trblEP3519 mutants than in controls. This increase in Cdc25String is sufficient to explain the excessive NSC proliferation in trbl mutants. Thus, Trbl initiates quiescence entry by promoting Cdc25String protein degradation during late embryogenesis (Otsuki, 2018).

Trbl also maintains NSC quiescence postembryonically; however, it must act through another mechanism, as Cdc25String is no longer expressed in postembryonic qNSCs. Trbl is known to inhibit insulin signaling by binding Akt and preventing its phosphorylation. Consistent with this, Trbl-expressing NSCs had less phosphorylated translation initiation factor 4E-binding protein (p4E-BP) than control NSCs. If Trbl inhibits Akt to maintain quiescence, constitutively active Akt (myr-Akt; here- after AktACT) should counteract Trbl-induced quiescence. AktACT fully rescued NSC reactivation. In contrast, as Trbl is thought to act downstream of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), constitutively active PI3K (dp110CAAX; hereafter PI3KACT)should not rescue reactivation, which it did not. Thus, Trbl maintains quiescence by blocking activation of Akt. This role is specific to postembryonic NSCs, as embryonic NSCs do not depend on insulin signaling to proliferate (Otsuki, 2018).

trbl expression must be repressed to allow NSC reactivation. It was found that insulin signaling is necessary and sufficient to repress trbl transcription. NSCs misexpressing phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), an insulin pathway inhibitor, failed to down-regulate trbl transcription . In contrast, activating the insulin pathway by expressing AktACT in NSCs was sufficient to switch off trbl transcription (Otsuki, 2018).

This study has discovered the mechanisms by which Drosophila NSCs enter, remain in, and exit quiescence in response to nutrition. First, Trbl pseudokinase promotes degradation of Cdc25String protein to induce quiescence; second, it blocks insulin signaling by inhibiting Akt in the same NSCs to maintain quiescence; and third, it is overridden by nutrition-dependent secretion of dILPs from blood-brain barrier glia, which activate insulin signaling in qNSCs, repress trbl expression, and enable reactivation (Otsuki, 2018).

qNSCs were found to be preprogrammed for arrest in G2 or G0, contrary to accepted doctrine. G2 qNSCs are the first to reactivate and generate neurons; this is followed by reactivation of G0 qNSCs. This pattern may ensure that neurons form the correct circuits in the appropriate order during brain development. G2 arrest also enables high-fidelity homologous recombination- mediated repair in response to DNA damage, preserving genomic integrity during quiescence. Quiescent stem cells in mammals may also arrest in G2, with implications for isolating and manipulating quiescent stem cells for therapeutic purposes (Otsuki, 2018).


PROTEIN STRUCTURE

Amino Acids - 483

Structural Domains

tribbles encodes a predicted 483 amino acid protein that shows homology throughout most of its length to a canine protein called c5fw and to closely related proteins (Wilkin, 1996, Wilkin, 1997). The function of these mammalian proteins is unknown. The only notable structural feature of c5fw is its similarity to two subdomains of protein kinases, a feature conserved in the Drosophila Tribbles protein. However, the c5fw protein, as well as Tribbles, lacks key residues usually required for kinase activity and c5fw does not appear to be a kinase (Wilkin, 1997). The sequence of the Tribbles protein does not suggest how it is acting biochemically. The only notable structural feature of Tribbles is the similarity to kinase subdomains VIII and IX, which may prove to be important (Mata, 2000).

Sequencing of the cDNA shows that tribbles encodes a protein with extensive similarity to the SNF1 class of serine/threonine kinases. Domains IV to XI are highly conserved, whereas domains I to III diverge significantly from the consensus. Four vertebrate proteins (including two human ESTs), which are the closest known relatives of Tribbles, share these characteristics. Perhaps the most significant property shared by these proteins that distinguishes them from other members of the protein kinase family is the fact that an asparagine in domain VIb (N171 of protein kinase A-Calpha) that occurs in all known protein kinases is replaced by an arginine (R269 in Tribbles). Thus, together these proteins define a new subgroup within the protein kinase superfamily. Whether they act as kinases remains to be tested (Seher, 2000).

Comparison of the primary structure of Tribbles with the consensus sequence of protein kinases shows severe deviations from the kinase consensus sequence. Three of the invariant residues are changed in Trbl: a KR change in the ATP binding site in subdomain II; an NR change in the catalytic loop within subdomain VIB, and a DS exchange in subdomain VII. In addition, the highly conserved histidine of the catalytic loop is substituted by a leucine. These severe deviations from the consensus make it unlikely that Trbl is a functional protein kinase. A second striking feature of the primary sequence is the abundance of serine residues in the N-terminal region of Trbl. Twenty-two of the first 49 residues are serines, which includes a piece with nine consecutive serines (Großhans, 2000).

The deviations from the consensus of protein kinases make it unlikely that Trbl is a functional protein kinase. To test this possibility further, an allele of Trbl (K266R) was generated, mutated at a crucial lysine of the catalytic center thought to govern the specificity of kinases for their targets. This lysine was changed to an arginine, a change which should maintain the configuration of the active site but alter its specificity. A lysine is present in all serine-threonine protein kinases, whereas an arginine is characteristic of conventional tyrosine kinases. When injected into embryos, this allele also induces a premature pause in the cell cycle (20 out of 41 embryos scored), confirming that Trbl does not function as a serine-threonine protein kinase (Großhans, 2000).

Evolutionary Homologs

TRB1 negatively regulates gluconeogenesis by suppressing the transcriptional activity of FOXO1

Tribbles related homolog 1 is the mammalian ortholog of Tribbles, which controls cell division and migration during development in Drosophila. TRB1 is a pseudokinase and functions as a scaffold protein. Recent findings suggest that TRB1 plays important roles in hepatic lipid metabolism and participates in insulin resistance. However, the underlying mechanisms have not yet been elucidated. This study demonstrates that TRB1 suppresses FOXO1 (see Drosophila Foxo) transcriptional activity to downregulate the expression of G6Pase and PEPCK, which encode gluconeogenic rate-limiting enzymes. TRB1 knockdown enhances FOXO1 binding to the gluconeogenic gene promoters. It also increases FOXO1 acetylation and recruits CBP to the binding sequence of FOXO1. These results suggest that TRB1 suppresses the expression of G6Pase and PEPCK by attenuating FOXO1 transcriptional activity and negatively regulates gluconeogenesis (Tsuzuki, 2018).


tribbles: Regulation | Developmental Biology | Effects of Mutation | References

date revised: 5 August 2023

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