Villin-SNAP25 interaction regulates insulin secretion downstream of ICA512 signaling

MZIAUT, H.; Kesavan, P.; Chen, C.; Gheisari, A.; Dehghany, J.; Mueller, A.; Soenmez, A.; Ganss, K.; Kalaidzidis, I.; Muenster, C.; Lohmann, M.; Kalaidzidis, Y.; Schulte, A.; Scharfmann, R.; Lehr, S.; Al-Hasani, H.; Hartmann, H.; Meyer-Hermann, M.; Speier, S.; Solimena, M.

doi:10.64898/2026.01.13.699220

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bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.01.13.699220

Villin-SNAP25 interaction regulates insulin secretion downstream of ICA512 signaling

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Abstract

Pancreatic islet {beta}-cells step-up insulin production and secretion in response to the elevation of blood glucose levels. ICA512/PTPRN is a transmembrane cargo of the insulin secretory granules (SGs). Upon SG exocytosis, its Ca2+/calpain mediated cleavage at the plasma membrane generates an ICA512-cleaved cytosolic fragment (ICA512-CCF) which as a decoy phosphatase prolongs phospho-STAT5/3 activities, thereby enhancing the transcription of mRNAs for SG cargoes, including insulin and its own, to replenish SG stores. In addition, ICA512 positively regulates the expression of F-actin modifier villin. Villin, in turn, modulates the size of actin cages surrounding cortical SGs, hence regulating SG mobility and exocytosis. Here we show that villin controls the number of SG docking sites for exocytosis by directly interacting at low glucose with the t-SNARE SNAP-25, thus restricting in this condition SG access to fusion sites and insulin release. Replacement of ICA512-CCF N-terminal ubiquitin-acceptor lysine 609 (K609) with valine (V) stabilized ICA512-CCF in insulinoma cells and homozygous ICA512K609V mice and enhanced the levels of phospho-STAT5/3 and villin. In ICA512K609V female mice these molecular traits correlated with reduced body weight, improved insulin sensitivity, reduced basal insulin secretion and onset time for glucose stimulated insulin secretion. Taken together, these data demonstrates that SG exocytosis induced ICA512 retrograde signaling acts in concert with the novel SNARE complex regulator villin to plastically adapt {beta}-cell actin cytoskeleton and access to SG docking sites for optimal control of insulin secretion in response to variations in extracellular glucose levels. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=110 SRC="FIGDIR/small/699220v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (27K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@37d835org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@5389f1org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@855d98org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1c3c639_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG Graphical abstract Model of ICA512 and STAT3/5-dependent regulation of -cell function. At basal conditions, villin limits secretory granule (SG) docking by interacting with SNAP-25, restricting insulin release (1). Increased metabolic load triggers hyperglycemia-induced ICA512 processing and growth factor-mediated STAT3/5 phosphorylation (2-4), enhancing ISG mRNAs, granule biogenesis, and villin expression (5,6). Villin modulates SNARE protein availability, controlling SG docking and secretion. Together, ICA512 retrograde signaling and villin-mediated SNARE regulation dynamically remodel the -cell actin cytoskeleton, adjusting SG docking site access to ensure appropriate insulin secretion in response to fluctuating glucose levels. C_FIG

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MZIAUT, H., Kesavan, P., Chen, C., Gheisari, A., Dehghany, J., Mueller, A., Soenmez, A., Ganss, K., Kalaidzidis, I., Muenster, C., Lohmann, M., Kalaidzidis, Y., Schulte, A., Scharfmann, R., Lehr, S., Al-Hasani, H., Hartmann, H., Meyer-Hermann, M., Speier, S., Solimena, M.. 2026-01-13. Villin-SNAP25 interaction regulates insulin secretion downstream of ICA512 signaling. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.13.699220

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