A regulatory subunit of phosphoinositide 3-kinase increases the nuclear accumulation of X-box-binding protein-1 to modulate the unfolded protein response

Class Ia phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), an essential mediator of the metabolic actions of insulin, is composed of a catalytic (p110 alpha or p110 beta) and regulatory (p85 alpha, p85 beta or p55 gamma) subunit. Here we show that p85 alpha interacts with X-box-binding protein-1 (XBP-1), a transcriptional mediator of the unfolded protein response (UPR), in an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-dependent manner. Cell lines with knockout or knockdown of p85 alpha show marked alterations in the UPR, including reduced ER stress-dependent accumulation of nuclear XBP-1, decreased induction of UPR target genes and increased rates of apoptosis. This is associated with a decreased activation of inositol-requiring protein-1 alpha (IRE1 alpha) and activating transcription factor-6 alpha (ATF6 alpha). Mice with deletion of p85 alpha in liver (L-Pik3r1(-/-)) show a similar attenuated UPR after tunicamycin administration, leading to an increased inflammatory response. Thus, p85 alpha forms a previously unrecognized link between the PI3K pathway, which is central to insulin action, and the regulation of the cellular response to ER stress, a state that when unresolved leads to insulin resistance.