Very little is known about the residues important for the interaction of insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) with the type 1 IGF receptor (IGF-1R) and the insulin receptor (IR). Insulin, to which IGF-II is homologous, is proposed to cross-link opposite halves of the IR dimer through two receptor binding surfaces, site 1 and site 2. In the present study we have analyzed the contribution of IGF-II residues equivalent to insulin's two binding surfaces toward the interaction of IGF-II with the IGF-1R and IR. Four "site 1" and six "site 2" analogues were produced and analyzed in terms of IGF-1R and IR binding and activation.
Insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II)2 is a single-chain polypeptide with homology to IGF-I and insulin. Its 67 amino acids are arranged, like those counterparts in IGF-I, in four domains in the order B, C, A, and D from the N terminus ( The mitogenic and metabolic activities of the IGFs and insulin result from their interaction with the type 1 IGF receptor (IGF-1R) and/or the exon 11-(IR-A) and exon 11ϩ (IR-B) isoforms of the insulin receptor (IR). These class II receptor tyrosine kinases exist at the membrane as preformed disulfidelinked homodimers composed of two ␣ and two  subunits in a -␣-␣- arrangement (reviewed in Refs. 9 -11). The IR and IGF-1R share between 41 and 84% sequence similarity that is most pronounced in their tyrosine kinase domains. Despite the homology in sequence and structure between these receptors, each exhibits distinct ligand binding preferences. The IGF-1R and IR bind their cognate ligands with high affinity (IGF-I and insulin, respectively). Both the IGF-1R and IR-A bind IGF-II with high affinity and are capable of mediating IGF-II action (12). Interestingly, the IR-B has a low affinity for IGF-II. The discerning factors for this isoform discrimination are largely undefined but may involve steric hindrance between the 12 amino acids encoded by exon 11 of IR-B and the IGF-II C domain.There are currently no structures of any of these ligand⅐receptor complexes. The binding of insulin to the IR is certainly the best characterized of these interactions. Insulin has two IR binding surfaces: the "site 1" binding surface lies within the insulin dimerization surface, whereas "site 2" overlaps its hexamer-forming surface. Insulin is proposed to crosslink opposite halves of the insulin receptor dimer through these two receptor binding surfaces (13,14). The stoichiometry of binding at physiological insulin concentrations is 1:1. However, each IR has two potential ligand binding pockets both also consisting of two ligand binding surfaces (site 1 and site 2 of one monomer and site 1Ј and site 2Ј of the other, which combine to give two identical binding pockets, site 1/2Ј and site 1Ј/2). This putative arrangement is consistent with the three-dimensional crystal structure of the IR ectodomain (15). Evidence from ligand binding studies suggests that insulin may cross-link only one pair of binding surfaces at a time, with binding of a second molecule to an unoccupied site acce...