Sulfhydryl oxidation of reduced insulin in dilute solution

The reduction of insulin by tri-n-butylphosphine followed by air oxidation in dilute solution at pH 9.1 yields A- and B-chain disulfides. A(S-S)2 and B(S-S) have been purified on SP-Sephadex C-25 using a linear gradient of sodium chloride from 0.1 to 0.45 M in 0.5 M acetic acid containing 7 M urea. The overall yield of A(S-S)2 was 70%; and B(S-S), 60%. The A(S-S)2 and B(S-S) had the expected amino acid composition and N-terminal amino acid. The kinetics of reduction and reoxidation of insulin disulfide bonds are discussed.     

Determination of sulfhydryl groups and disulfide bonds in a protein by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

A general method by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for the determination of sulfhydryls and disulfides in a protein was developed. The method included a two-step alkylation procedure: the first step consisted of alkylation of the sulfhydryl groups with iodoacetic acid in the presence and absence of 8 M urea; the second step consisted of alkylation of the disulfide groups with iodoacetamide after reduction with a thiol. By high-pH urea gel electrophoresis, all the half-cystine residues in a protein could be categorized into three states: reactive sulfhydryls, nonreactive sulfhydryls, and disulfide bonded. The particular advantage of the method is that the states of half-cystines in different protein species can be analyzed independently both in isolated protein and in biological translation systems.     

Reoxidation of reduced bovine growth hormone from a stable secondary structure

In order to determine solution conditions appropriate for reoxidizing reduced bovine growth hormone (bGH), we have examined the possibility of using a particular denaturant concentration to poise the secondary and tertiary structure of the reduced protein in a stable, nativelike state. It was envisioned that the structure of the reduced molecule would differ from that of the final oxidized molecule solely by the absence of disulfide bonds. Dilution of concentrated samples of reduced and unfolded protein from 6.0 M guanidine into 4.5 M urea followed by air oxidation indicated it was possible to induce refolding and reoxidation to an oxidized monomeric species in high yield (approximately 90%). The choice of solution conditions was based on comparison of urea equilibrium denaturation data for native oxidized protein to those for completely reduced protein and to protein in which sulfhydryl groups had been either partially or completely reduced and subjected to modification with iodoacetamide or methyl methanethiolsulfonate. The denaturation behavior of these species supports the existence of equilibrium folding intermediates for bovine growth hormone and demonstrates that chemical modification of the protein is capable of inducing differences in the denaturation behavior of these intermediates. The changes in the protein absorption spectrum and helix-related circular dichroism signal, along with direct titration of protein sulfhydryl groups, indicated that the refolding/reoxidation of bGH is a multistate process. The ordered nature of the kinetic changes in these probes during reoxidation indicates that disulfide formation is a sequential process, with little mispairing in 4.5 M urea, and that it proceeds through one or more obligatory kinetic folding events. The equilibrium denaturation behavior of the oxidized molecule and the various chemically modified forms, together with the reoxidation data, indicated that the protein maintains a high degree of secondary structure without intrachain disulfide bonds. The formation of these disulfide bonds is a discrete process which occurs after a framework of protein secondary structure is established.     

Sulfhydryls of platelet tubulin: their role in polymerization and colchicine binding

Sulfhydryls and disulfides of platelet tubulin have been quantified, their accessibility and reactivity measured, and their role in polymerization and colchicine binding evaluated. Platelet tubulin isolated by two cycles of temperature-dependent polymerization--depolymerization was found to contain 12 free sulfhydryl groups per tubulin monomer all of which reacted rapidly with p-chloromercuribenzoate. One sulfhydryl was inaccessible to dithiobis(nitrobenzoic acid). Under anaerobic conditions of tubulin extraction, one intrachain disulfide bridge was found per tubulin monomer. Polymerization of tubulin reduced the number of sulfhydryls by one which were able to react with p-chloromercuribenzoate or dithiobis(nicotinic acid) but did not affect the disulfide bridge. Polymerizability of platelet tubulin was very sensitive to blocking of free sulfhydryl groups. Complete inhibition of microtubule assembly was obtained when the number of free sulfhydryls per tubulin was reduced by 3 but could be reversed by the addition of dithiothreitol. Colchicine binding, on the other hand, was only minimally influenced by blocking of sulfhydryls.     

Structural stability of human alpha-thrombin studied by disulfide reduction and scrambling

Human alpha-thrombin is a very important plasma serine protease, which is involved in physiologically vital processes like hemostasis, thrombosis, and activation of platelets. Knowledge regarding the structural stability of alpha-thrombin is essential for understanding its biological regulation. Here, we investigated the structural and conformational stability of alpha-thrombin using the techniques of disulfide reduction and disulfide scrambling. alpha-Thrombin is composed of a light A-chain (36 residues) and a heavy B-chain (259 residues) linked covalently by an inter-chain disulfide bond (Cys(1)-Cys(122)). The B-chain is stabilized by three intra-chain disulfide bonds (Cys(42)-Cys(58), Cys(168)-Cys(182), and Cys(191)-Cys(220)) (Chymotrypsinogen nomenclature). Upon reduction with dithiothreitol (DTT), alpha-thrombin unfolded in a 'sequential' manner with sequential reduction of Cys(168)-Cys(182) within the B-chain followed by the inter-chain disulfide, generating two distinct partially reduced intermediates, I-1 and I-2, respectively. Conformational stability of alpha-thrombin was investigated by the technique of disulfide scrambling. alpha-Thrombin denatures by scrambling its native disulfide bonds in the presence of denaturant [urea, guanidine hydrochloride (GdmCl) or guanidine thiocyanate (GdmSCN)] and a thiol initiator. During the process, cleavage of the inter-chain disulfide bond and release of the A-chain from B-chain was the foremost event. The three disulfides in the B-chain subsequently scrambled to form three major isomers (designated as X-Ba, X-Bb, and X-Bc). Complete denaturation of alpha-thrombin was observed at low concentrations of denaturants (0.5 M GdmSCN, 1.5 M GdmCl, or 3 M urea) indicating low conformational stability of the protease.     

Properties and specificity of the major metal-chelator-sensitive proteinase in the keratinolytic larvae of the webbing clothes moth.

The metal chelator-sensitive proteinase activity from the larvae of the webbing clothes moth, Tineola bisselliella, was fractionated into two components by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and the properties of the major fraction investigated. The approximate molecular weight obtained by gel filtration was 24 000. The pH optimum of 9.4 and the high stability between pH 9.0 and 11.5 are consistent with the alkaline conditions known to be present in the larval mid-gut. The enzyme also showed a second region of high stability around pH 2.3. The cleavage specificity against S-carboxy-methyl A and B chains of insulin was quite different to that of the metal chelator-sensitive proteinases from snake venoms and microorganisms. 10 bonds in the A-chain and 8 bonds in the B-chain were cleaved and the tentative rules governing the specificity limitations of this metal-chelator-sensitive proteinase are discussed.     

B22-D-arginine]insulin: synthesis and biological properties

An analogue of porcine insulin which differs from the native molecule in that the amino-acid residue B22-L-arginine is replaced by its D-enantiomer has been synthesized. The [D ArgB22]B-chain was synthesized by the segment condensation method and purified as the di-S-sulfonate by ion exchange chromatoggraphy on SP-Sephadex at pH 3.5. Combination with native porcine sulfhydryl A-chain gave [DArgB22]insulin which was purified by ion exchange chromatography on SP-Sephadex at pH 4.5 with a linear NaCl gradient. The biological activity of this analogue as measured by glucose oxidation in rat epididymal adipocytes was 2%. Thymidine incorporation into DNA of human fibroblast was 16%. The immunoreactivity using antipork insulin antibody in a double antibody immunoassay was 4%. The receptor-binding affinity as measured by radioreceptor assays was 2% with cultured human fibroblasts and 1% with rat adipocytes. These results suggest that the L-configuration at B22-arginine is essential for retaining the biological, immunological and receptor-binding properties of the hormone.     

Semisynthetic sheep des-A1-glycine insulin (author's transl)]

The synthetic Des-1-glycine-A-chain of sheep insulin as the monomeric cyclic bisdisulfide and native bovine B-chain bissulfonate were reduced together with mercaptoethanol. They combined at pH 10.6 to yield Des-A1-glycine-insulin. This was purified by gel and ion exchange chromatography. The low insulin activity (0.4 - 0.6%) as measured by the fat cell test as well as the change in the CD spectrum indicated that the loss of the N-terminal glycine of the A-chain results in fully inactive insulin. This confirms the results obtained earlier by partial synthesis of Des-A1-glycine-insulin.     

C-Terminus of the B-Chain of Relaxin-3 Is Important for Receptor Activity

Human relaxin-3 is a neuropeptide that is structurally similar to human insulin with two chains (A and B) connected by three disulfide bonds. It is expressed primarily in the brain and has modulatory roles in stress and anxiety, feeding and metabolism, and arousal and behavioural activation. Structure-activity relationship studies have shown that relaxin-3 interacts with its cognate receptor RXFP3 primarily through its B-chain and that its A-chain does not have any functional role. In this study, we have investigated the effect of modification of the B-chain C-terminus on the binding and activity of the peptide. We have chemically synthesised and characterized H3 relaxin as C-termini acid (both A and B chains having free C-termini; native form) and amide forms (both chains’ C-termini were amidated). We have confirmed that the acid form of the peptide is more potent than its amide form at both RXFP3 and RXFP4 receptors. We further investigated the effects of amidation at the C-terminus of individual chains. We report here for the first time that amidation at the C-terminus of the B-chain of H3 relaxin leads to significant drop in the binding and activity of the peptide at RXFP3/RXFP4 receptors. However, modification of the A-chain C-terminus does not have any effect on the activity. We have confirmed using circular dichroism spectroscopy that there is no secondary structural change between the acid and amide form of the peptide, and it is likely that it is the local C-terminal carboxyl group orientation that is crucial for interacting with the receptors.     

Two-dimensional NMR studies of Des-(B26-B30)-insulin: sequence-specific resonance assignments and effects of solvent composition.

Des-pentapeptide-insulin (DPI), a monomeric analogue which lacks the C-terminal five residues of the B-chain, provides a tractable model for 2D-NMR studies of insulin under a variety of solvent conditions. In this paper we present the sequential assignment of DPI at pH 1.8 and 25 degrees C in 10% deuterated DMSO/90% H2O; the chemical shifts are in general similar to those recently described in the absence of an organic cosolvent [1], in 20% acetic acid [2] and (for intact insulin) in 35% acetonitrile [3]. Under each of these solvent conditions qualitative analysis of the 2D-NMR data indicates that the major elements of secondary structure observed in the crystal state (three alpha-helices and B-chain beta-turn) are retained in solution. However, there is disagreement in the literature regarding the stability of the insulin fold, as monitored by amide-proton exchange rates and long-range nuclear Overhauser enhancements [1-3]. In contrast to a previous study [1], we observe slowly exchanging amide resonances (in freshly prepared D2O solutions) and nonlocal NOEs under each of the solvent conditions described, implying the existence of a stably folded secondary structure and hydrophobic core. The slowly-exchanging resonances are assigned to the central alpha-helix of the B-chain, the ends of the adjoining beta-turn, and the two A-chain alpha-helices. Qualitative analysis of long-range NOEs indicates that the major features of the crystal state are retained under these solvent conditions.     

Disulfide-bonded dimerization of fibronectin in vitro.

Human plasma fibronectin was denatured with 8 M urea and reduced with dithiothreitol. Dialysis or dilution of the solution led to formation of fibronectin dimers which migrated in non-reducing SDS/PAGE similarly to untreated control protein. When the redimerized fibronectin was reduced and re-electrophoresed it formed a doublet of alpha and beta chains of equal intensity indicating that it was a heterodimer. Low concentrations (less than 1 mM) of Fe3+ enhanced the redimerization of fibronectin, suggesting that metal ions may mediate oxidative reactions in the formation of the disulfides. Consequently, redimerization of fibronectin was completely prevented by deferoxamine, an iron chelator. Dimerization of fibronectin took place most effectively at pH greater than or equal to 8.8 but decreased strongly at lower pH, representing more unfavourable conditions for the action of the thiolate anion in the thiol/disulfide exchange reaction. Redimerized fibronectin, however, lost many of its binding properties to macromolecular ligands, suggesting that the disulfide bonding did not entirely regenerate the proper conformation of the protein. Pulse/chase experiments of fibroblast cultures showed that the initially monomeric fibronectin was rapidly and quantitatively dimerized under conditions representing natural pH and environment. SDS/PAGE analysis of the dialyzed urea-denatured/reduced thrombin and plasmin digests of fibronectin revealed that the NH2-terminal 30-kDa fragment and other fragments that contained intrachain disulfides quantitatively regained their non-reduced electrophoretic mobility. The results show that the dimerization and formation of intrachain disulfides of fibronectin may occur, in part, spontaneously, based on the amino acid sequence information of the protein. However, complete disulfide formation may also need other factors, present only in living cells, as suggested by pulse/chase experiments in fibroblasts.     

The effect of sulfhydryl oxidation on the morphology of immature hamster epididymal spermatozoa induced to acquire motility in vitro

Immotile spermatozoa from the caput epididymidis become progressively motile when incubated in medium containing theophylline, seminal plasma, and albumin. We previously reported that under these incubation conditions the spermatozoa induced to acquire motility exhibited a marked flagellar angularity, with the sperm head or midpiece bent 90-180 degrees towards the tail. In addition, we demonstrated that sperm flagellar bending did not occur when the sulfhydryl oxidant diamide was added to the motility induction medium. In the present study, we examined further the effect of sulfhydryl oxidation on the morphology and sulfhydryl content of immature caput spermatozoa induced to acquire motility in vitro. We found that flagellar bending was prevented and sperm flagellar straightness was maintained in a dose-dependent manner by diamide. Moreover, flow cytometric analysis of caput sperm sulfhydryls using the sulfhydryl reagent monobromobimane (mBBr) revealed that 1) diamide oxidizes caput sperm sulfhydryls, and 2) less than 15% of the total reactive sperm sulfhydryls were oxidized at diamide concentrations capable of preventing sperm angulation. Sodium tetrathionate (NaTT), another sulfhydryl oxidant, and hamster cauda epididymal fluid (CEF) containing sulfhydryl oxidase enzyme activity also maintained flagellar straightness in induced caput spermatozoa and oxidized sperm sulfhydryls. The flagellar straightness in caput spermatozoa treated with sulfhydryl oxidants, however, was temporary; with extended incubation, diamide- or CEF-treated spermatozoa exhibited flagellar bending. Additional studies showed that the flagellar straightness observed in sulfhydryl-oxidized spermatozoa was sustained when nitrofurantoin, an inhibitor of glutathione reductase, was included in the induction medium. Flow cytometric analysis of nitrofurantoin-treated spermatozoa showed that nitrofurantoin maintained the sperm disulfides formed by diamide and prevented the reduction of sperm disulfides back to sulfhydryls. Taken together, these studies demonstrate the significance of sulfhydryl oxidation in maintaining the morphology of immature caput epididymal spermatozoa induced to acquire motility in vitro and suggest that sulfhydryl oxidation may be important in the development of motility during sperm epididymal maturation in vivo.     

Structures of sugar chains of ricin D

The toxic lectin, ricin D, contains mannose, fucose, xylose, and N-acetylglucosamine as sugar components. Sugar chains are linked to Asn-10 of the A-chain, and to Asn-95 and Asn-135 of the B-chain (Funatsu, G. et al. (1978) Agric. Biol. Chem. 42, 501-503; Araki, T. & Funatsu, G. (1985) FEBS Lett. 191, 121-124). Asparagine-linked sugar chains of each glycopeptide from ricin D were liberated by hydrazinolysis followed by N-acetylation. The reducing end residues of the sugar chains were coupled with 2-aminopyridine and the pyridylamino (PA-) derivatives obtained were purified by gel-filtration and reversed-phase HPLC. Eight main PA-sugar chains were obtained from three glycopeptides and the structures of these sugar chains were determined by component analysis, stepwise exoglycosidase digestions, partial acetolysis, and 500 MHz 1H-NMR spectroscopy. The results show that oligomannose type sugar chains (Man6-7GlcNAc2) are linked to Asn-95; Man5-7 GlcNAc2 and M4X (structure, see below) to Asn-135 of the B-chain, and M3FX and M3X to Asn-10 of the A-chain. (Formula: see text).     

Human gene 2 relaxin chain combination and folding

Relaxin is a small 6 kD two-chain peptide member of the insulin superfamily that is principally produced in the corpus luteum of the ovary and which plays a key role in connective tissue remodeling during parturition. Like insulin, it is produced on the ribosome as preprohormone that undergoes oxidative folding and subsequent proteolytic processing to yield the mature insulin-like peptide. In contrast to the now considerable insight into insulin chain folding and oxidation, comparatively little is known about the folding pathway of relaxin. A series of synthetic pairwise serine substituted relaxin A-chain cysteine analogues was prepared, and their oxidation behavior was studied both on their own and in the presence of native relaxin B-chain. It was observed that native S-reduced A-chain oxidized rapidly to a bicyclic product, whereas individual formation of each of the intramolecular disulfide bonds between Cys11 and Cys24 and the native Cys10 and Cys15 was considerably slower. Curiously, the non-native, isomeric Cys11-Cys15 disulfide bond formed most rapidly, although circular dichroism spectroscopy analysis showed this product to be devoid of secondary structure. This suggested that it may in fact be an intermediate in the subsequent formation of the native Cys10-Cys15 intramolecular disulfide. Combination of the native A-chain with the B-chain proceeded rapidly as compared with the A-chain analogue that lacked the intramolecular disulfide bond suggesting that this latter element is required as a first step in the folding process. It is therefore probable that relaxin is generated from its constituent A- and B-chains in a stepwise organization manner similar to that of insulin chain combination and folding. Further studies showed that the efficiency of combination of A-chain to B-chain was not markedly influenced by reaction temperature and that a reasonable yield of relaxin could be obtained on combination of the preoxidized A-chain with the S-reduced B-chain.     

Mechanism of insulin fibrillation: the structure of insulin under amyloidogenic conditions resembles a protein-folding intermediate

Insulin undergoes aggregation-coupled misfolding to form a cross-beta assembly. Such fibrillation has long complicated its manufacture and use in the therapy of diabetes mellitus. Of interest as a model for disease-associated amyloids, insulin fibrillation is proposed to occur via partial unfolding of a monomeric intermediate. Here, we describe the solution structure of human insulin under amyloidogenic conditions (pH 2.4 and 60 degrees C). Use of an enhanced sensitivity cryogenic probe at high magnetic field avoids onset of fibrillation during spectral acquisition. A novel partial fold is observed in which the N-terminal segments of the A- and B-chains detach from the core. Unfolding of the N-terminal alpha-helix of the A-chain exposes a hydrophobic surface formed by native-like packing of the remaining alpha-helices. The C-terminal segment of the B-chain, although not well ordered, remains tethered to this partial helical core. We propose that detachment of N-terminal segments makes possible aberrant protein-protein interactions in an amyloidogenic nucleus. Non-cooperative unfolding of the N-terminal A-chain alpha-helix resembles that observed in models of proinsulin folding intermediates and foreshadows the extensive alpha --> beta transition characteristic of mature fibrils.     

Suppression of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis sample preparation artifacts for analysis of IgG4 half-antibody

Human IgG4 subtype antibodies have often been reported to have a significant portion (5-50%) of a heavy chain-light chain dimer ("half-antibody") on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), in which the heavy chain is not covalently linked through the hinge disulfides to another heavy chain. We demonstrate here that there can be artifactual sources of half-antibody. One occurred during SDS-PAGE sample preparation where rapid disulfide scrambling was initiated by preexisting free sulfhydryls in the monoclonal antibody (mAb) and by free sulfhydryl produced by destruction of disulfide bonds during heating. Inclusion of N-ethylmaleimide in the sample buffer prevented the disulfide scrambling. Presumably, cyclization of the flexible IgG4 hinge during this disulfide scrambling leads to the preferential separation of heavy chains. A second condition producing half-antibody was reoxidation after exposure to reductant, where 46% of the antibody was trapped in the intrachain disulfide form. The amount of half-antibody was reduced to 4% by reoxidation in the presence of a mixture of oxidized and reduced glutathione. When the improved sample preparation conditions were used, IgG4 mAb freshly isolated from cells contained 4.5-15% half-antibody, indicating that equilibration of the interchain and intrachain hinge disulfide pairing was not always attained in cells.     

The different energetic state of the intra A-chain/domain disulfide of insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 is mainly controlled by their B-chain/domain

Insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) share homologous sequence, similar three-dimensional structure, and weakly overlapping biological activity, but different folding information is stored in their homologous sequences: the sequence of insulin encodes one unique thermodynamically stable three-dimensional structure while that of IGF-1 encodes two disulfide isomers with different three-dimensional structure but similar thermodynamic stability. Their different folding behavior probably resulted from the different energetic state of the intra A-chain/domain disulfide: the intra A-chain disulfide of insulin is a stable bond while that of IGF-1 is a strained bond with high energy. To find out the sequence determinant of the different energetic state of their intra A-chain/domain disulfide, the following experiments were carried out. First, a local chimeric single-chain insulin (PIP) with the A8-A10 residues replaced by the corresponding residues of IGF-1 was prepared. Second, the disulfide stability of two global hybrids of insulin and IGF-1, Ins(A)/IGF-1(B) and Ins(B)/IGF-1(A), was investigated. The local segment swap had no effect on the fidelity of disulfide pairing and the disulfide stability of PIP molecule although the swapped segment is close to the intra A-chain/domain disulfide. In redox buffer which favors the disulfide formation for most proteins, Ins(A)/IGF-1(B) cannot form and maintain its native disulfides just like that of IGF-1, while the disulfides of Ins(B)/IGF-1(A) are stable in the same condition. One major equilibrium intermediate with two disulfides of Ins(A)/IGF-1(B) was purified and characterized. V8 endoproteinase cleavage and circular dichroism analysis suggested that the intra A-chain/domain disulfide was reduced in the intermediate. Our present results suggested that the energetic state of the intra A-chain/domain disulfide of insulin and IGF-1 was not controlled by the A-chain/domain sequence close to this disulfide but was mainly controlled by the sequence of the B-chain/domain.     

D-glucose dehydrogenase from Bacillus megaterium M 1286: purification, properties and structure.

1) Glucose dehydrogenase from Bacillus megaterium has been purified to a specific activity of 550 U per mg protein. The homogeneity of the purified enzyme was demonstrated by gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing. 2) The amino acid composition has been determined. 3) The molecular weight of the native enzyme was found to be 116000 by gel permeation chromatography, in good agreement with the values of 120000 and 118000, which were ascertained electrophoretically according to the method of Hedrick and Smith and by density gradient centrifugation, respectively. 4) In the presence of 0.1% sodium dodecylsulfate and 8M urea, the enzyme dissociates into subunits with a molecular weight of 30000 as determined by dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis. These values indicate that the native enzyme is composed of four polypeptide chains, each probably possessing one coenzyme binding site, which can be concluded from fluorescent titration of the NADH binding sites. 5) In polyacrylamide disc electrophoresis, samples of the purified enzyme exhibit three bands of activity, which present the native (tetrameric) form of glucose dehydrogenase and two monomeric forms (molecular weight 30000), arising under the conditions of pH and ionic strength of this method. 6) The enzyme shows a sharp pH optimum at pH 8.0 in Tris/HCl buffer, and a shift of the pH optimum to pH 9.0 in acetate/borate buffer. The limiting Michaelis constant at pH 9.0 for NAD is 4.5 mM and 47.5 mM for glucose. The dissociation constant for NAD is 0.69 mM. 7) D-Glucose dehydrogenase is highly specific for beta-D-glucose and is capable of using either NAD or NADP. The enzyme is insensitive to sulfhydryl group inhibitors, heavy metal ions and chelating agents.     

The insulin receptor. Structural basis for high affinity ligand binding

Treatment of the soluble insulin receptor from human placenta with 1.25 mM dithiothreitol and 75 mM Tris at pH 8.5 results in complete reduction of interhalf disulfide bonds (class 1 disulfides) and dissociation of the tetrameric receptor into the dimeric alpha beta form. The alpha beta receptor halves exhibit a reduced affinity for insulin binding (B?ni-Schnetzler, M., Rubin, J. B., and Pilch, P. F. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 15281-15287). Kinetic experiments reveal that reduction of class 1 disulfides is a faster process than the loss of affinity for ligand, indicating that events subsequent to reduction of interhalf disulfides are responsible for the affinity change. We show that a third class of alpha subunit intrachain disulfides is more susceptible to reduction at pH 7.6 than at pH 8.5 and appears to form part of the ligand binding domain. Reduction of the intrachain disulfide bonds in this part of the alpha subunit leads to a loss of insulin binding. Modification of this putative binding domain by dithiothreitol can be minimized if reduction is carried out at pH 8.5. When the insulin receptor in placental membranes is reduced at pH 8.5, the receptor's affinity for insulin is not changed when binding is measured in the membrane. However, the Kd for insulin binding is reduced 10-fold when alpha beta receptor halves are subsequently solubilized. Scatchard analysis of insulin binding to reduced or intact receptors in the membrane and in soluble form together with sucrose density gradient analysis of soluble receptors suggests that alpha beta receptor halves remain associated in the membrane after reduction, but they are dissociated upon solubilization. We interpret these results to mean that the association of two ligand binding domains, 2 alpha beta receptor halves, is required for the formation of an insulin receptor with high affinity for ligand.