The IR (insulin receptor) and IGFR (type I insulin-like growth factor receptor) are found as homodimers, but the respective pro-receptors can also heterodimerize to form insulin-IGF hybrid receptors. There are conflicting data on the ligand affinity of hybrids, and especially on the influence of different IR isoforms. To investigate further the contribution of individual ligand binding epitopes to affinity and specificity in the IR/IGFR family, we generated hybrids incorporating both IR isoforms (A and B) and IR/IGFR domain-swap chimaeras, by ectopic co-expression of receptor constructs in Chinese hamster ovary cells, and studied ligand binding using both radioligand competition and bioluminescence resonance energy transfer assays. We found that IR-A-IGFR and IR-B-IGFR hybrids bound insulin with similar relatively low affinity, which was intermediate between that of homodimeric IR and homodimeric IGFR. However, both IR-A-IGFR and IR-B-IGFR hybrids bound IGF-I and IGF-II with high affinity, at a level comparable with homodimeric IGFR. Incorporation of a significant fraction of either IR-A or IR-B into hybrids resulted in abrogation of insulin- but not IGF-I-stimulated autophosphorylation. We conclude that the sequence of 12 amino acids encoded by exon 11 of the IR gene has little or no effect on ligand binding and activation of IR-IGFR hybrids, and that hybrid receptors bind IGFs but not insulin at physiological concentrations regardless of the IR isoform they contained. To reconstitute high affinity insulin binding within a hybrid receptor, chimaeras in which the IGFR L1 or L2 domains had been replaced by equivalent IR domains were co-expressed with full-length IR-A or IR-B. In the context of an IR-A-IGFR hybrid, replacement of IR residues 325-524 (containing the L2 domain and part of the first fibronectin domain) with the corresponding IGFR sequence increased the affinity for insulin by 20-fold. We conclude that the L2 and/or first fibronectin domains of IR contribute in trans with the L1 domain to create a high affinity insulin-binding site within a dimeric receptor.

Background Metastasized or unresectable melanoma has been the first malignant tumor to be successfully treated with checkpoint inhibitors. Nevertheless, about 40–50% of the patients do not respond to these treatments and severe side effects are observed in up to 60%. Therefore, there is a high need to identify reliable biomarkers predicting response. Tumor Mutation Burden (TMB) is a debated predictor for response to checkpoint inhibitors and early measurement of ctDNA can help to detect treatment failure to immunotherapy in selected melanoma patients. However, it has not yet been clarified how TMB and ctDNA can be used to estimate response to combined CTLA-4 and PD-1 antibody therapy in metastatic melanoma. Patients and methods In this prospective biomarker study, we included 35 melanoma patients with ipilimumab (anti-CTLA-4) and nivolumab (anti-PD-1) therapy. In all patients, a tumor panel of 710 tumor-associated genes was applied (tumor vs. reference tissue comparison), followed by repetitive liquid biopsies. Cell-free DNA was extracted and at least one driver mutation was monitored. Treatment response was evaluated after about three months of therapy. Results TMB was significantly higher in responders than in nonresponders and TMB > 23.1 Mut/Mb (TMB-high) was associated with a survival benefit compared to TMB ≤ 23.1 Mut/Mb (TMB-low or TMB-intermediate). Furthermore, a > 50% decrease of cell-free DNA concentration or undetectable circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), measured by tumor-specific variant copies/ml of plasma at first follow-up three weeks after treatment initiation were significantly associated with response to combined immunotherapy and improved overall survival, respectively. It is noticeable that no patient with TMB ≤ 23.1 Mut/Mb and detectable or increasing ctDNA at first follow-up responded to immunotherapy. Conclusion High TMB, > 50% decrease of cell-free DNA concentration, and undetectable ctDNA at first follow-up seem to be associated with response and overall survival under combined immunotherapy. The evaluation of ctDNA and cell-free DNA three weeks after treatment initiation may be suitable for early assessment of efficacy of immunotherapy. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40425-019-0659-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Obesity is associated with chronic inflammation. Proinflammatory adipokines may promote metabolic disorders and cardiovascular morbidity. However, the key mechanisms leading to obesity-related inflammation are poorly understood. The corticosteroid metabolism in adipose tissue plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome. Both the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) mediate corticosteroid action in adipose tissue. The significance of the interplay of these receptors in mediating an inflammatory adipokine response is virtually unexplored. In the present study, we investigated the differential roles of the GR and MR in controlling the key adipose tissue functions including inflammatory adipokine expression and adipogenesis using selective stimulation with receptor agonists, acute receptor knockdown via RNA interference and newly generated knockout adipose cell lines. Selective GR stimulation of white adipocytes with dexamethasone inhibited the expression of interleukin 6 (IL6), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP1 or CCL2 as listed in the MGI Database), tumour necrosis factor-a, chemerin and leptin. By contrast, selective MR stimulation with aldosterone promoted the expression of IL6, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, chemerin and leptin. Furthermore, in the presence of an acute GR knockdown as well as in GR knockout adipocytes, corticosterone increased the gene expression of the pro-inflammatory adipokines IL6 and MCP1. Whereas GR knockout adipocytes displayed a mildly impaired adipogenesis during early differentiation, MR knockout cells completely failed to accumulate lipids. Taken together, our data demonstrate a critical role for the balance between gluco-and mineralocorticoid action in determining adipocyte responses implicated in obesity-associated inflammation and cardiovascular complications.

The putative transcriptional corepressor ETO/MTG8 has been extensively studied due to its involvement in a chromosomal translocation causing the t(8;21) form of acute myeloid leukemia. Despite this, the role of ETO in normal physiology has remained obscure. Here we show that ETO is highly expressed in preadipocytes and acts as an inhibitor of C/EBP␤ during early adipogenesis, contributing to its characteristically delayed activation. ETO prevents both the transcriptional activation of the C/EBP␣ promoter by C/EBP␤ and its concurrent accumulation in centromeric sites during early adipogenesis. ETO expression rapidly reduces after the initiation of adipogenesis, and this is essential to the normal induction of adipogenic gene expression. These findings define, for the first time, a molecular role for ETO in normal physiology as an inhibitor of C/EBP␤ and a novel regulator of early adipogenesis.Adipose tissue is a key depot for the storage of energy as triglycerides and also plays a dynamic role in the regulation of metabolism (30). Studies of obese and lipodystrophic humans and rodents demonstrate that both increased and decreased adipose tissue mass are associated with insulin resistance and abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism (17,24,29). Thus, tight control of adipocyte development, size and insulin-sensitivity appears to be of critical importance in maintaining whole body energy homeostasis. The process of adipogenesis requires highly organized and precisely controlled expression of a cascade of transcription factors within the preadipocyte (25,32,35). The rapid and transient induction of the C/CAAT-enhancer binding proteins C/EBP␤ and C/EBP␦ is one of the earliest steps in this process (35). These transcription factors bind to specific sequences in the promoters of C/EBP␣ and the nuclear hormone receptor PPAR␥,