J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 259, Issue 8, 5058-5065, Apr, 1984
Insulin-stimulated tyrosine protein kinase. Characterization and relation to the insulin receptor
RA Nemenoff, YC Kwok, GI Shulman, PJ Blackshear, R Osathanondh and J Avruch
Utilizing histone phosphorylation as the basis for a quantitative assay,
the insulin-stimulated protein kinase in human placenta has been
characterized. The kinase copurifies through wheat germ agglutinin-
Sepharose and DEAE-cellulose in constant ratio to the insulin binding
function. Both activities are bound to the same extent on insulin-
Sepharose, and the immobilized kinase, after extensive washing, exhibits
activity versus histone, which closely approaches that of the
insulin-stimulated, solubilized kinase. In addition, the bound kinase
retains the ability to phosphorylate the Mr = 95,000 subunit of the
bead-bound receptor. Elution of the beads with sodium dodecyl sulfate
yields on electrophoresis two major peptides of Mr = 130,000 and 95,000.
Thus, insulin binding and insulin-stimulated histone kinase copurify in a
constant stoichiometric ratio in close physical relation and are likely
functional expressions of the same molecule. After the DEAE step, the
insulin-stimulated kinase phosphorylates histone subfraction 2b exclusively
on tyrosine residues. Insulin increases the Vmax for H2b by 3-5-fold and
increases the rate of the histone phosphorylation in direct correspondence
to the steady state level of specifically bound insulin. ATP is the
preferred phosphate donor. The reaction is supported by either Mn2+ or
Mg2+. At [ATP] less than 0.5 mM, insulin-stimulated kinase is substantially
higher with Mn2+ as the sole divalent cation, as compared to Mg2+. At [ATP]
greater than or equal to 0.5 mM, the rates observed with Mn2+ have
plateaued, whereas the rates in the presence of Mg2+ show a continued
increase such that maximal activity is seen with Mg2+ and 2-3 mM ATP. Under
these conditions, the estimated turnover number of the kinase ranges
between 30 and 100 pmol of 32P transferred per min/pmol of insulin bound.
Thus, the tyrosine kinase activity of the insulin receptor is
quantitatively comparable to that estimated for several serine protein
kinases and is unlikely to reflect the side reaction of another enzymatic
function.