Soluble insulin-like growth factor II/mannose 6-phosphate receptor inhibits DNA synthesis in insulin-like growth factor II sensitive cells

The soluble form of the insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II)/mannose 6-P (IGF-II/M6P) receptor is released by cells in culture and circulates in the serum. It retains its ability to bind IGF-II and blocks IGF-II-stimulated DNA synthesis in isolated rat hepatocytes. Because these cells are not normally stimulated to divide by IGF-II in vivo, the effect of soluble IGF-II/M6P receptor on DNA synthesis has been further investigated in two cell lines sensitive to IGF-II; mouse 3T3(A31) fibroblasts, stimulated by low levels of IGF-II following priming by epidermal growth factor (EGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and Buffalo rat liver (BRL) cells, which secrete IGF-II and proliferate in the absence of exogenous growth factors. Soluble IGF-II/M6P receptor (0.2-2.0 microgram/ml) purified from a rat hepatoma cell line inhibited DNA synthesis (determined by dThd incorporation) in both cell lines. Basal DNA synthesis was very low in serum-free 3T3 cells, but high in serum-free BRL cells, possibly as a result of autocrine IGF-II production. The inhibitory effect was reversible in cells preincubated with soluble receptor prior to incubation with growth factors and could also be overcome by excess IGF-II. Soluble receptor was more potent in IGF-II-stimulated 3T3 cells and serum-free BRL cells than in BRL cells incubated with serum. Mean inhibition by four preparations of soluble receptor (1 microgram/ml) was 34.7% +/- 4.4% in BRL cells stimulated with fetal calf serum (FCS) (5%) compared to 54.8% +/- 4.2% in serum-free BRL cells (P = 0.05) and 60.6% +/- 6.5% (P = 0.02) in 3T3 cells stimulated by PDGF, EGF, and IGF-II. Soluble receptor had no effect on DNA synthesis in 3T3 cells stimulated with IGF-I. These results demonstrate that soluble receptor, at physiological concentrations, can block proliferation of cells by IGF-II and could therefore play a role in blocking tumor growth mediated by IGF-II.     

Effect of an anti-insulin-like growth factor I receptor antibody on insulin-like growth factor II stimulation of DNA synthesis in human fibroblasts

To investigate the role of insulin-like growth factor II in the control of DNA synthesis in human fibroblasts, dose-response curves for insulin-like growth factor I and II stimulation of [3H]thymidine incorporation were compared in the absence and presence of alpha IR-3, a highly specific monoclonal antibody directed against the type I insulin-like growth factor receptor. Specific binding of [125I]insulin-like growth factor I to human fibroblast monolayer cultures was inhibited 60-70% in the presence of alpha IR-3. alpha IR-3 had no effect on [125I]insulin-like growth factor II binding to human fibroblasts. However, alpha IR-3 inhibited both insulin-like growth factor I and II stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation. These data indicate that the type II insulin-like growth factor receptor does not function as a transducer of insulin-like growth factor II's mitogenic effect in human fibroblasts.     

Production of an insulin-like growth factor by osteosarcoma

To test the possibility that osteosarcoma cells produce their own growth factors, we measured levels of insulin and somatomedin C (SMC), an insulin-like growth factor, in culture media of two cell lines derived from patients with that disease. SMC but not insulin levels increased three- to ten-fold over a period of 7 days paralleling the increases in cell number. Production of SMC was inhibited by cycloheximide.     

Chemical synthesis of insulin-like growth factor II

Human insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) with 67 amino acids and three disulfide bridges has been synthesized by the solid-phase method. The synthetic hormone is shown to be homogeneous in high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), high performance partition chromatography (HPPC), and chromatofocusing. It is indistinguishable from natural hormone in HPLC, peptide map of thermolysin digests, amino acid composition and radioreceptor binding assay. Thus, synthetic and natural IGF-II are identical.     

The receptor for insulin-like growth factor II mediates an insulin-like response.

Insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) shares sequence homology and predicted three-dimensional structure with insulin and IGF-I. IGF-II can bind, therefore, to a limited extent with the receptors for these two other hormones, as well as to a distinct receptor for IGF-II. Previous studies have been unable to attribute a particular response of IGF-II through its own receptor. In the present studies, the IGF-II receptor is shown to mediate the stimulation of glycogen synthesis in human hepatoma cells since: (i) IGF-II is found to be capable of stimulating a response at concentrations in which it would primarily interact with its own receptor; (ii) the response to IGF-II was not blocked by monoclonal antibodies which inhibit the responses of cells through the insulin and IGF-I receptors; and (iii) polyclonal antibodies to the IGF-II receptor were found to mimic the ability of IGF-II to stimulate glycogen synthesis. These results indicate that the IGF-II receptor mediates a particular biological response--stimulation of glycogen synthesis in hepatoma cells. Furthermore, a monovalent Fab fragment of the polyclonal antibody to the IGF-II receptor was also shown to stimulate glycogen synthesis in these cells. These data indicate that clustering of the IGF-II receptor is not required to stimulate a biological response.     

Role of the insulin-like growth factor system in adrenocortical growth control and carcinogenesis.

Clinically silent adrenocortical adenomas are the most frequent abnormalities in the adrenal gland. In contrast, adrenocortical carcinoma is a rare tumor with an extremely poor prognosis. The factors responsible for the frequent occurrence of benign adrenocortical tumors on one hand and the rare malignant transformation on the other are not known. Several genetic alterations such as loss of imprinting or loss of heterozygosity of the 11p15 gene locus causing a strong IGF-II overexpression have been demonstrated in the majority of adrenocortical carcinomas. In addition to IGF-II overexpression, increased levels of the IGF-I-receptor and IGFBP-2 have been found in advanced human adrenocortical carcinomas, suggesting an important role for the IGF-system in adrenocortical carcinogenesis. IGFs are potent mitogens regulating growth and apoptosis through interaction with the IGF-I-receptor, and overexpression of the human IGF-I-receptor promotes ligand-dependent neoplastic transformation in a variety of different cell systems. It is evident, therefore, that high levels of IGF-II in combination with overexpression of the IGF-I-receptor can provide a significant growth advantage for adrenocortical carcinoma cells and thus contribute to the highly malignant phenotype of this rare type of cancer. Additionally, it has been shown that overexpression of IGFBP-2 can promote malignant transformation of Y1 mouse adrenocortical tumor cells through unknown IGF-independent mechanisms. As one possible mechanism, we have recently found altered expression of catalase in IGFBP-2-overexpressing tumor cells, thus implicating IGFBP-2 in influencing intracellular peroxide levels. However, since transgenic mice with IGF-II or IGFBP-2 overexpression in the adrenal gland do not show an increased frequency of adrenal tumors, IGF-II or IGFBP-2 may act as progression factors but not as initiation factors in adrenocortical tumorigenesis.     

Post-transcriptional control of protein synthesis in Balb/c-3T3 cells by platelet-derived growth factor and platelet-poor plasma

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and platelet-poor plasma, which lacks PDGF, both induce a rapid increase in the rate of total protein synthesis within quiescent, density-arrested Balb/c-3T3 cells. This stimulation of protein synthesis is associated with an increased aggregation of ribosomes into polyribosomes. Nuclear functions are not required for this response, as demonstrated by the observation that this stimulation of protein synthesis occurs in cells pretreated with actinomycin D and in enucleated cells (cytoplasts). The response to PDGF persists even after PDGF has been removed from the culture medium, but in contrast, when plasma is removed from the medium, polysomes disaggregate and protein synthesis declines. PDGF and plasma do not function synergistically to increase protein synthesis, whereas they do to induce optimum DNA synthesis. Thus stimulation of the translational apparatus may be necessary for the mitogenic response of Balb/c-3T3 cells to growth factors, but it is not by itself sufficient.     

Characterization of the inhibition of DNA synthesis in proliferating mink lung epithelial cells by insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) can inhibit cell growth by directly interacting with cells, as well as by forming complexes with IGF-I and IGF-II that prevent their growth-promoting activity. The present study examines the mechanism of inhibition of DNA synthesis by IGFBP-3 in CCL64 mink lung epithelial cells. DNA synthesis was measured by the incorporation of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine, using an immunocolorimetric assay. Recombinant human IGFBP-3 (rh[N109D,N172D]IGFBP-3) inhibited DNA synthesis in proliferating and quiescent CCL64 cells. Inhibition was abolished by co-incubation of IGFBP-3 with a 20% molar excess of Leu(60)-IGF-I, a biologically inactive IGF-I analogue that binds to IGFBP-3 but not to IGF-I receptors. DNA synthesis was not inhibited by incubation with a preformed 1:1 molar complex of Leu(60)-IGF-I and IGFBP-3, indicating that only free IGFBP-3 inhibits CCL64 DNA synthesis. Inhibition by IGFBP-3 is not due to the formation of biologically inactive complexes with free IGF, since endogenous IGFs could not be detected in CCL64 conditioned media; any IGFs that might have been present could only have existed in inactive complexes, since endogenous IGFBPs were present in excess; and biologically active IGFs were not displaced from endogenous IGFBP complexes by Leu(60)-IGF-I. After incubation with CCL64 cells, (125)I-IGFBP-3 was covalently cross-linked to a major thick similar400-kDa complex. This complex co-migrated with a complex formed after incubation with (125)I-labeled transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) that has been designated the type V TGF-beta receptor. (125)I-IGFBP-3 binding to the thick similar400-kDa receptor was inhibited by co-incubation with unlabeled IGF-I or Leu(60)-IGF-I. The ability of Leu(60)-IGF-I to decrease both the inhibition of DNA synthesis by IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-3 binding to the thick similar400-kDa receptor is consistent with the hypothesis that the thick similar400-kDa IGFBP-3 receptor mediates the inhibition of CCL64 DNA synthesis by IGFBP-3.     

Insulin-like growth factor characteristics of an acidic non-suppressible insulin-like activity.

The biological activities of an acidic form of non-suppressible insulin-like activity (ILA pI 4.8) have been studied. ILA pI 4.8 was isolated from Cohn fraction IV-1 of human serum by pH 5.5 ion-exchange chromatography on SP-Sephadex. Carrier-bound ILA was eluted at pH 9.7 and then sequentially gel chromatographed in 1% formic acid on Sephadex G-75 and Bio-Gel P-30. The low-Mr (7000) active material was subjected to flat bed isoelectric focusing. Overall recovery was 87 munit of insulin equivalents/100 g of Cohn fraction IV-1, with a specific activity in the range 4-10 munit/mg of protein, representing a purity of 1-6%. This material has been tested in a variety of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)/somatomedin assay systems. It stimulated, in a dose-related manner, [14C]glucose conversion into lipid by isolated rat adipocytes, 35SO4(2-) incorporation into weanling rat costal cartilage and [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA of cultured human fibroblasts. Like IGF-I and -II, ILA pI 4.8 was able to inhibit degradation of 125I-insulin by crude homogenates of rat liver. In addition, the biological activity of ILA pI 4.8 was completely suppressible by a recently described inhibitor of IGF-I and IGF-II. ILA pI 4.8 was able to compete, in a parallel manner, with 125I-IGF-I and 125I-IGF-II and, at higher doses, with 125I-insulin in a placental radioreceptor assay. No cross-reactivity was seen in a radioimmunoassay for IGF-I and -II C-peptides, but at higher concentrations parallel displacement was observed in a somatomedin C/IGF-I radioimmunoassay using two different antisera. These data indicate that ILA pI 4.8 does possess many of the biological activities previously reported for the IGFs. Since ILA pI 4.8 does occur naturally in serum, it would appear reasonable to tentatively include it as one of the IGF/somatomedin family.     

Regulation of DNA synthesis in human fetal hepatocytes by placental lactogen, growth hormone, and insulin-like growth factor I/somatomedin-C

Hepatocytes were isolated by gentle collagenase digestion of liver fragments from human fetuses of 8-16 weeks gestation obtained following prostaglandin-induced pregnancy terminations. They were maintained on collagen-coated tissue culture dishes in selective arginine-free medium for up to 72 hr, and the action of hormones and growth factors on DNA synthesis was studied by autoradiography following incubation with 3H-thymidine. The labeling index of hepatocytes was consistently enhanced by 25-250 ng/ml human placental lactogen (HPL), 25-250 ng/ml human growth hormone (HGH), 10-50 ng/ml insulin-like growth factor I/somatomedin-C (IGF I/Sm-C), and 10% dialyzed fetal calf serum, reaching a maximum of three- to four-fold greater than in basal medium alone. Under basal conditions, 30% of hepatocytes stained positively for the presence of IGF peptides using a monoclonal antibody raised against purified human IGF I/Sm-C. Although this proportion did not change following treatment with HGH and HPL, IGF I/Sm-C released by cells into culture medium was considerably increased in the presence of both hormones. Incubation with the SmC 1.2 monoclonal antibody abolished the increase in labeling index in response to IGF I/Sm-C and partially blocked the response to both HPL and HGH. These results indicate that both HPL and HGH stimulate DNA synthesis in human fetal hepatocytes and suggest that this effect is at least partly indirect through the release and paracrine action of IGF I/Sm-C.     

Extracellular calcium stimulates DNA synthesis in synergism with zinc, insulin and insulin-like growth factor I in fibroblasts.

In serum-starved mouse NIH 3T3 fibroblasts cultured in 1.8 mM Ca2+-containing medium, addition of 0.75-2 mM extra Ca2+ stimulated DNA synthesis in synergism with zinc (15-60 microM), insulin and insulin-like growth factor I. Extra Ca2+ stimulated phosphorylation/activation of p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinases by an initially (10 min) zinc-independent mechanism; however, insulin, and particularly zinc, significantly prolonged Ca2+-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation. In addition, extra Ca2+ activated p70 S6 kinase by a zinc-dependent mechanism and enhanced the stimulatory effect of zinc on choline kinase activity. Insulin and insulin-like growth factor I also commonly increased both p70 S6 kinase and choline kinase activities. In support of the role of the choline kinase product phosphocholine in the mediation of mitogenic Ca2+ effects, cotreatments with the choline kinase substrate choline (250 microM) and the choline kinase inhibitor hemicholinium-3 (2 mM) enhanced and inhibited, respectively, the combined stimulatory effect of extra Ca2+ (3.8 mM total) and zinc on DNA synthesis. In various human skin fibroblast lines, 1-2 mM extra Ca2+ also stimulated DNA synthesis in synergism with zinc and insulin. The results show that in various fibroblast cultures, high concentrations of extracellular Ca2+ can collaborate with zinc and certain growth factors to stimulate DNA synthesis. Considering the high concentration of extracellular Ca2+ in the dermal layer, Ca2+ may promote fibroblast growth during wound healing in concert with zinc, insulin growth factor-I insulin, and perhaps other growth factors.     

Stimulation of DNA synthesis in skin fibroblasts by human hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor.

The effect of hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) on the proliferation of human skin fibroblasts was examined. At concentrations above 1.0 ng/ml, both native and recombinant human HGF/SF stimulated the DNA synthesis determined by [³H]thymidine incorporation, which was completely inhibited by an anti-human HGF/SF monoclonal antibody. The maximal DNA synthesis in the treated cells was nearly twice that in untreated cells. HGF/SF also caused an increase in the labelling index, DNA content and cell number. The effect of HGF/SF was more than additive to the maximal effect of insulin and epidermal growth factor, other mitogens for the fibroblasts. These results indicate that human skin fibroblasts are sensitive to the mitogenic action of HGF/SF.     

Neural and head induction by insulin-like growth factor signals.

Evidence is presented for a new pathway participating in anterior neural development. It was found that IGF binding protein 5 (IGFBP-5), as well as three IGFs expressed in early embryos, promoted anterior development by increasing the head region at the expense of the trunk in mRNA-injected Xenopus embryos. A secreted dominant-negative type I IGF receptor (DN-IGFR) had the opposite effect. IGF mRNAs led to the induction of ectopic eyes and ectopic head-like structures containing brain tissue. In ectodermal explants, IGF signals induced anterior neural markers in the absence of mesoderm formation and DN-IGFR inhibited neural induction by the BMP antagonist Chordin. Thus, active IGF signals appear to be both required and sufficient for anterior neural induction in Xenopus.