Insulin Receptor Isoform A, a Newly Recognized, High-Affinity Insulin-Like Growth Factor II Receptor in Fetal and Cancer Cells

Abstract

Insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) is a peptide growth factor that is homologous to both insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and insulin and plays an important role in embryonic development and carcinogenesis. IGF-II is believed to mediate its cellular signaling via the transmembrane tyrosine kinase type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-I-R), which is also the receptor for IGF-I. Earlier studies with both cultured cells and transgenic mice, however, have suggested that in the embryo the insulin receptor (IR) may also be a receptor for IGF-II. In most cells and tissues, IR binds IGF-II with relatively low affinity. The IR is expressed in two isoforms (IR-A and IR-B) differing by 12 amino acids due to the alternative splicing of exon 11. In the present study we found that IR-A but not IR-B bound IGF-II with an affinity close to that of insulin. Moreover, IGF-II bound to IR-A with an affinity equal to that of IGF-II binding to the IGF-I-R. Activation of IR-A by insulin led primarily to metabolic effects, whereas activation of IR-A by IGF-II led primarily to mitogenic effects. These differences in the biological effects of IR-A when activated by either IGF-II or insulin were associated with differential recruitment and activation of intracellular substrates. IR-A was preferentially expressed in fetal cells such as fetal fibroblasts, muscle, liver and kidney and had a relatively increased proportion of isoform A. IR-A expression was also increased in several tumors including those of the breast and colon. These data indicate, therefore, that there are two receptors for IGF-II, both IGF-I-R and IR-A. Further, they suggest that interaction of IGF-II with IR-A may play a role both in fetal growth and cancer biology.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank R. Baserga for mouse R⁻ cells, A. Ullrich for IR isoform expression vectors, and R. A. Roth for the IGF-I-R expression vector.

L. Sciacca is a recipient of a fellowship from Associazione Italiana Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC, Italy). These studies were supported by a grant from AIRC and by the University of Catania, Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica (MURST ex 40%, N. 1271, Italy), and in part also by the J. Kerner Foundation, the J. Gershow Cancer Research Fund, and the Ladies Auxiliary of Veterans of Foreign Wars.