Kinetic properties of the insulin receptor tyrosine protein kinase: activation through an insulin-stimulated tyrosine-specific, intramolecular autophosphorylation.

The insulin receptor is an insulin-activated, tyrosine-specific protein kinase. Previous studies have shown that autophosphorylation of tyrosine residues on the Mr 95,000 is associated with an activation of the protein kinase activity toward exogenous protein substrates. We have employed the highly purified insulin receptor, immobilized on insulin-Sepharose or eluted in an active form, to define the metal/ATP requirements for kinase activation, the relationship of receptor autophosphorylation to activation, and the kinetic properties of the autophosphorylated, activated receptor kinase. Prior incubation of the immobilized receptor with 2 mM ATP, 10 mM Mg (or 10 mM Mn), followed by removal of these reactants, served to abolish the upward curvilinearity in the rate of histone 2b (tyrosine) phosphorylation measured subsequently. This treatment also markedly increased the rate of histone 2b phosphorylation as compared to that observed with the unmodified, immobilized receptor, as estimated under conditions that per se minimized further activation. The extents of maximal activation of receptor histone 2b (tyrosine) kinase obtained on preincubation with MgATP or MnATP are identical; however, the affinity of the receptor for MnATP is approximately 10-fold higher than that for MgATP. The higher affinity of the receptor for MnATP is observed for both autophosphorylation/autoactivation and histone 2b tyrosine kinase activity (Km MnATP approximately 0.01 mM; Km MgATP approximately 0.1 mM). Autophosphorylation/autoactivation per se does not significantly alter the apparent affinity for MeATP (or protein substrate, as previously reported) but increases Vmax. Activation of receptor histone 2b (tyrosine) kinase is due to tyrosine-specific autophosphorylation of the Mr 95,000 (beta) subunit; thus the extent of total 32P incorporation into the beta subunit correlates precisely with the extent of kinase activation, both over time and at a wide variety of Me2+ ATP concentrations. Sequential treatment of the autophosphorylated receptor with elastase and trypsin yields a single, basically charged 32P-peptide, Mr less than 2000. The functional properties of the unphosphorylated and fully phosphorylated receptor were compared after elution from insulin-Sepharose. The insulin binding characteristics of the two forms of the receptor were indistinguishable; the kinase properties differed greatly; whereas the histone 2b activity of the unphosphorylated receptor was low in the basal state, and activated 10-fold by insulin, the fully autophosphorylated receptor exhibits maximal histone 2b kinase in the basal state and is unaffected by insulin addition.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)