The SHC proteins have been implicated in insulin receptor (IR) signaling. In this study, we used the sensitive two-hybrid assay of protein-protein interaction to demonstrate that SHC interacts directly with the IR. The interaction is mediated by SHC amino acids 1 to 238 and is therefore independent of the Src homology 2 domain. The interaction is dependent upon IR autophosphorylation, since the interaction is eliminated by mutation of the IR ATP-binding site. In addition, mutational analysis of the Asn-Pro-Glu-Tyr (NPEY) motif within the juxtamembrane domain of the IR showed the importance of the Asn, Pro, and Tyr residues to both SHC and IR substrate 1 (IRS-1) binding. We conclude that SHC interacts directly with the IR and that phosphorylation of Tyr-960 within the IR juxtamembrane domain is necessary for efficient interaction. This interaction is highly reminiscent of that of IRS-1 with the IR, and we show that the SHC IR-binding domain can substitute for that of IRS-1 in yeast and COS cells. We identify a homologous region within the IR-binding domains of SHC and IRS-1, which we term the SAIN (SHC and IRS-1 NPXY-binding) domain, which may explain the basis of these interactions. The SAIN domain appears to represent a novel motif which is able to interact with autophosphorylated receptors such as the IR.The recent identification and cloning of proteins which interact with receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) has allowed much insight into the molecular basis for RTK signal transduction (9,10,18,19,24,27,54). These effector proteins contain Src homology 2 (SH2) domains of approximately 100 amino acids which interact directly with phosphotyrosine-containing regions of each RTK (21, 35). Upon receptor autophosphorylation, these SH2 domain-containing proteins interact with the RTK. Unlike most RTKs, the insulin receptor (IR) and the related insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGFIR) appear to interact with and phosphorylate an intermediate signaling protein termed IRS-1, for insulin receptor substrate 1 (17). After tyrosine phosphorylation by the IR, IRS-1 is thought to interact with a variety of SH2 domain-containing proteins, including the p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, GRB-2, and SH-PTP2 (Syp) (45, 52). These proteins presumably mediate some of the effects of the IR.Another substrate of the IR is the SH2 domain-containing protein SHC, so named because of its SH2 domain as well as its homology to collagen (36). Multiple SHC proteins exist, two of which (p52 and p46) result from the use of alternative translation start sites, while the origin of the p66 isoform is less clear. The SHC proteins have been implicated in mitogenic signaling by a variety of tyrosine kinases. These include the receptors for nerve growth factor (32), epidermal growth factor (EGF) (36), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) (59), and insulin (39). SHC has also been implicated in signaling by other classes of receptors, including the interleukin-2 receptor (40, 62) and the T-cell receptor (41). Other hormones which have been ...