Monoclonal antibodies reacting with multiple epitopes on the human insulin receptor

Monoclonal antibodies for the human insulin receptor were produced following immunization of mice with IM-9 lymphocytes and/or purified placental receptor. Four separate fusions yielded 28 antibodies, all of which reacted with receptor from human placenta, liver and IM-9 cells. Some antibodies cross-reacted to varying degrees with receptor from rabbit, cow, pig and sheep, but none reacted with rat receptor. At least 10 distinct epitopes were recognized as indicated by species specificity and binding competition experiments. All of these epitopes appeared to be on extracellular domains of the receptor as shown by binding of antibodies to intact cells. In some cases the epitopes were further localized to alpha or beta subunits by immunoblotting. Several antibodies inhibited binding of 125I-insulin to the receptor, some had no effect on binding, and others enhanced the binding of 125I-insulin. It is concluded that these antibodies will be valuable probes of receptor structure and function.