We have demonstrated previously that dexamethasone treatment of HepG2 cells caused an enhancement of insulin's metabolic effects (Kosaki, A., and Webster, N. J. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 21990-21996). This correlated with increased expression of the mRNA encoding the B isoform of the insulin receptor (IR). In the present study, we have demonstrated that dexamethasone treatment caused in addition an enhancement in insulin-stimulated immediate-early gene expression (c-fos and egr-1). Dexamethasone treatment caused an increase in in vivo IR autophosphorylation and insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) phosphorylation both early events in the insulin signaling pathway. Furthermore, the IRS-1 phosphorylation was distinctly left shifted, although the level of IRS-1 protein was unchanged. Total cellular tyrosine phosphatase activity was unaltered when assayed with 32P-labeled IR and IRS-1. Studies in vitro on wheat-germ agglutinin-purified receptors showed that the B isoform of the IR had increased kinase activity both toward itself and the exogenous substrates poly.glu4:tyr1 and recombinant IRS-1 protein. In addition, two-dimensional tryptic phosphopeptide maps indicated that the B isoform has an additional phosphopeptide that is not seen for the A isoform. In conclusion, it appears that the B isoform of the IR signals more efficiently than the A isoform in HepG2 cells.