Defective processing of insulin-receptor precursor in cultured lymphocytes from a patient with extreme insulin resistance.

We have studied a patient with extreme insulin resistance, acanthosis nigricans, and decreased erythrocyte insulin binding. EBV-transformed lymphocytes from this patient exhibited markedly reduced binding of 125I-insulin. Radioiodination of cell surface receptors followed by immunoprecipitation with anti-receptor antibodies revealed the presence of increased amounts of a 210-kD protein but no detectable alpha or beta subunits. Continuous labeling with 2-[3H]mannose revealed the synthesis of a 190-kD precursor and a 210-kD protein. The 210-kD protein was phosphorylated in an insulin-dependent manner at high insulin concentrations. These results suggest that in this patient the biosynthesis of 190-kD receptor precursor, its terminal glycosylation, and intracellular transport to the cell surface proceed normally, while proteolytic maturation to alpha and beta subunits does not occur. We postulate that this defect either results from mutation(s) within the insulin-receptor gene, which render the precursor resistant to cleavage, or from a defect in the receptor processing enzyme.