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Title: Actions of mammalian insulin on a Neurospora variant: morphology, growth and binding

Conference · · Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States)
OSTI ID:7108402

Molecules resembling mammalian insulin have previously been detected in lower eukaryotes by others, but no function was found. The authors have found that the cell wall-deficient slime mutant of Neurospora crassa, when cultured in a defined, nutrient-rich medium, responds to mammalian insulin (10/sup -10/ M). In transition from the late logarithmic to early stationary phases of growth (18-24 hours), insulin treated cells were larger, rounder and more uniform in shape, and the number of cells with characteristic projections (tails) was reduced 5-fold. Insulin treated cell cultures also contained 15-30% more protein and showed significantly greater viability for an extended period, as measured by trypan blue dye exclusion. Bovine and porcine insulin were both active, as was human insulin produced by recombinant techniques. Binding of insulin to N. crassa slime cells showed properties similar to that of many mammalian cell types: high affinity, reversibility, and a curvilinear Scatchard plot. Even at the low temperature (4/sup 0/C) of these experiments, however, degradation of radiolabeled insulin was high (ca. 30%). The long-term effects of mammalian insulin on N. crassa may thus be mediated through a receptor as in higher organisms.

Research Organization:
UMDNJ-Rutgers Medical School, Piscataway
OSTI ID:
7108402
Report Number(s):
CONF-8606151-; TRN: 86-039116
Journal Information:
Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States), Vol. 45:6; Conference: 76. annual meeting of the Federation of American Society for Experimental Biology, Washington, DC, USA, 8 Jun 1986
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English