To identify mechanisms by which GH receptors (GHR) mediate downstream events representative of growth and metabolic responses to GH, stimulation by GH of c-fos and egr-1 expression and glucose transport activity were examined in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing mutated GHR. In CHO cells expressing wild-type GHR (GHR(1-638)), GH stimulated the expression of c-fos and egr-1, and stimulated 8-deoxyglucose uptake, responses also mediated by endogenous GHR in 3T3-F442A cells. Deletion of the proline-rich box 1 of GHR (GHR(Delta P)) abrogated all of these responses to GH, indicating that box 1, a site of association of GHR with the tyrosine kinase JAK2, is crucial for these GH-stimulated responses. As the C-terminal half of the cytoplasmic domain of GHR is required for GH-stimulated calcium flux and for stimulation of spi-2.1 transcription, GHR lacking this sequence (GHR(1-454)) were examined. Not only did GHR(1-454) mediate stimulation of c-fos and egr-1 expression and 2-deoxyglucose uptake, but they also mediated GH-stimulated transcriptional activation via Elk-l, a transcription factor associated with the c-fos Serum Response Element. Thus, the C-terminal half of the cytoplasmic domain of GHR is not required for GH-stimulated c-fos transcription, suggesting that increased calcium is not required for GH-stimulated c-fos expression. In CHO cells lacking all but five N-terminal residues of the cytoplasmic domain (GHR(1-294)), GH did not induce c-fos or egr-1 expression or stimulate 2-deoxyglucose uptake. Further, in 3T3-F442A fibroblasts with endogenous GHR, GH-stimulated c-fos expression and 2-deoxyglucose uptake were reduced by the tyrosine kinase inhibitors herbimycin A, staurosporine, and P11. Herbimycin A and staurosporine inhibit JAK2 and tyrosyl phosphorylation of all proteins stimulated by GH, whereas P11 inhibits the GH-dependent tyrosyl phosphorylation of only some proteins, including extracellular signal regulated kinases ERK1 and -2, but not JAK2. Taken together, these results implicate association of GHR with JAK2 and GH-stimulated tyrosyl phosphorylation of an additional cellular protein in GH-stimulated glucose transport and c-fos and egr-1 expression. These studies also indicate that, in contrast to spi-2.1, the N-terminal half of the cytoplasmic domain of GHR is sufficient to mediate stimulation of c-fos and egr-1 expression and Elk-l activation, supporting multiple mechanisms for GH signaling to the nucleus.
