[Tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (p125FAK) and paxillin in glomeruli from diabetic rats].

Focal adhesion kinase (p125FAK) is a novel non-receptor cytosolic tyrosine kinase which is activated through the phosphorylation of its tyrosine residue by ligands that bind to integrins and ligands that activate protein kinase C (PKC). In diabetic glomeruli, extracellular matrix proteins such as fibronectin, laminin and type IV collagen, which bind to integrins, were found to be increased in the mesangial area. Furthermore, PKC was shown to be activated in diabetic glomeruli. These changes might be able to cause the activation of p125FAK in diabetic glomeruli. To test this hypothesis, we examined tyrosine phosphorylation of p125FAK and paxillin, a proposed substrate of p125FAK, in glomeruli isolated from streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Tyrosine phosphorylation of p125FAK or paxillin was evaluated by immunoblot analysis using anti-phosphotyrosine antibody after immunoprecipitation with anti-p125FAK or anti-paxillin antibody. Three and seven weeks after STZ injection, tyrosine phosphorylation of both p125FAK and paxillin was increased in diabetic glomeruli. The increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of p125FAK and paxillin was not observed in glomeruli from diabetic rats treated with insulin. To investigate the mechanism of increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of p125FAK, we examined tyrosine phosphorylation of p125FAK in mesangial cells plated on a fibronectin-coated dish or cultured under conditions of high glucose concentration (conditions under which PKC can be activated). Attachment of the cells to fibronectin induced tyrosine phosphorylation of p125FAK, while a high glucose concentration did not modulate tyrosine phosphorylation of p125FAK. In conclusion, tyrosine phosphorylation of p125FAK and paxillin was increased in diabetic glomeruli and these alternations may have been caused by changes in extracellular matrix proteins in diabetes.