Inhibition of the action of nonsuppressible insulin-like activity on isolated rat fat cells by binding to its carrier protein.

Nonsuppressible insulin-like activity extracted and purified from human serum (NSILA-S) mimics all insulin-like effects in vitro and, after injection, in vivo in the presence of excess insulin antibodies. However, there is no evidence that it exerts acute insulin-like effects in its native form in the circulation, where it is almost completely bound to a specific large molecular weight carrier protein. In this paper we show that partially purified NSILA-S-carrier protein, devoid of endogenous insulin-like activity, inhibits the stimulatory effect of NSILA-S, but not of insulin, on 3-0-methylglucose transport and on lipogenesis from [U-(14)C]glucose in isolated rat fat cells. Concomitantly, it prevents binding of (125)I-labeled NSILA-S to the insulin receptor and to the NSILA-S-binding site. The following explanation is, therefore, offered for the absence of acute insulin-like effects of native NSILA-S in vivo: In native serum NSILA-S occurs almost exclusively as NSILA-S-carrier complex. According to recent findings the passage of this complex through blood capillaries is restricted. The present results indicate that, in addition, it is metabolically inactive, or, at least, possesses reduced metabolic activity. The well-known phenomenon that whole serum, nevertheless, exerts pronounced nonsuppressible insulin-like effects on adipose tissue in vitro seems, therefore, to be mainly caused by the presence of a large molecular weight insulin-like protein not identical to the NSILA-S-carrier complex.

Identification of a specific inhibitor of nonsuppressible insulin-like activity in a partially purified human serum fraction.

During purification of low molecular weight (MW) nonsuppressible insulin-like activity (NSILA) from Cohn fraction IV-I of human serum, a fraction from Sephadex G-75 chromatography was gel filtered on Biogel P-30 in 1% formic acid. NSILA activity was all eluted in "fraction III" (Kav 0.4-0.9) with a recovery (compared to applied activity of 216 +/- 21% (mean +/- SE, n = 6). To test the possibility that this increase was due to removal of an inhibitor, a series of mixing experiments was performed. Total inhibition of fraction III occurred on mixing with fraction II (Kav 0.1-0.4), which had no intrinsic activity of its own. Fraction I (Kav 0.01) had no effects. Inhibition by fraction II was dose dependent, nondialysable, partially heat sensitive (boiling, 15 min) and totally destroyed by trypsin. Estimations of the MW of the inhibitor are 16,000-18,000. The inhibitor was shown to be specific for low MW NSILA by inhibiting the stimulatory effects of an acid-ethanol extract of human serum but not insulin or the acid-stable high MW form of nonsuppressible insulin-like activity. Inhibition of NSILA was observed in both rat adipocyte (insulin-like) and costal cartilage (sulfation) bioassays. Lineweaver-Burk analysis suggested the inhibitor acted in a competitive fashion. These studies have demonstrated the presence of a specific inhibitor of NSILA in Cohn fraction UV-I of normal human serum. The identity and physiological role of the inhibitor are as yet unknown.