Increased intracellular calcium activates serum and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase 1 (SGK1) through a calmodulin-calcium calmodulin dependent kinase kinase pathway in Chinese hamster ovary cells

SGK1 is one of the protein-serine/threonine kinases that is activated by insulin in a PI3K-dependent manner. Although SGK1 mediates a variety of biological activities, the mechanisms regulating its activity remain unclear. In this study, we examined the potential roles of calcium signaling in the activation of SGK1. Treatment of CHOIR cells with a cell-permeable calcium chelator, BAPTA-AM, abolished the insulin-induced activation of SGK1. Increasing intracellular calcium concentration by treating cells with thapsigargin or ionomycin induced a 6-8 fold increase in SGK1 activation. This was not affected by a PI3K inhibitor, wortmannin, but was completely inhibited by the calmodulin inhibitors, W 7 and W 5. Co-transfection of CHO cells with FLAG-SGK1 and CaMKK revealed the direct association of CaMKK with SGK1. These results suggest a calcium-triggered signaling cascade in which an increase in intracellular calcium concentration directly stimulates SGK1 through CaMKK. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.