Insulin: its binding to specific receptors and its stimulation of DNA synthesis and 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide phosphohydrolase activity in cerebral cells cultured from embryonic mouse brain.

The presence and specificity of insulin receptors was investigated in culture cells obtained from 15-16 days old embryonic mouse cerebra. Developmental studies suggested that the maximum insulin binding occurred at about 11 days in vitro (DIV). Scatchard analysis of binding data revealed two types of binding sites. One type of receptor was the high affinity type (Kd = 7.77 x 10(-9) M; number of receptor sites, Bmax = 350 fmol/mg protein) while the other type was of low affinity type (Kd = 5.75 X 10(-8)M; Bmax = 1150 fmol/mg protein). The specificity of receptors for insulin was also confirmed by showing that [125I]insulin was displaced by non-radioactive insulin but not by glucagon or growth hormone. Insulin displayed a clear dose-dependent stimulation of thymidine incorporation. It also stimulated the activity of the enzyme 2', 3'-cyclic nucleotide phosphohydrolase (CNPase), which is specifically associated with myelin produced from oligodendroglia. Thus insulin has a positive influence on the proliferation and differentiation of brain cells.