Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) binding protein-3 regulation of IGF-I is altered in an acidic extracellular environment

✍ Scribed by Kimberly E. Forsten; R. Michael Akers; James D. San Antonio

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 223 KB
• Volume: 189
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-9541
• DOI: 10.1002/jcp.10033

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

While extracellular acidification within solid tumors is well‐documented, how reduced pH impacts regulation of insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I) has not been studied extensively. Because IGF‐I receptor binding is affected by IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs), we examined how pH impacted IGFBP‐3 regulation of IGF‐I. IGF‐I binding in the absence of IGFBP‐3 was diminished at reduced pH. Addition of IGFBP‐3 reduced IGF‐I cell binding at pH 7.4 but increased surface association at pH 5.8. This increase in IGF‐I binding at pH 5.8 corresponded with an increase in IGFBP‐3 cell association. This, however, was not due to an increase in affinity of IGFBP‐3 for heparin at reduced pH although both heparinase III treatment and heparin addition reduced IGFBP‐3 enhancement of IGF‐I binding. An increase in IGF‐I binding to IGFBP‐3, though, was seen at reduced pH using a cell‐free assay. We hypothesize that the enhanced binding of IGF‐I at pH 5.8 is facilitated by increased association of IGFBP‐3 at this pH and that the resulting cell associated IGF‐I is IGFBP‐3 and not IGF‐IR bound. Increased internalization and nuclear association of IGF‐I at pH 5.8 in the presence of IGFBP‐3 was evident, yet cell proliferation was reduced by IGFBP‐3 at both pH 5.8 and 7.4 indicating that IGFBP‐3‐cell associated IGF‐I does not signal the cell to proliferate and that the resulting transfer of bound IGF‐I from IGF‐IR to IGFBP‐3 results in diminished proliferation. Solution binding of IGF‐I by IGFBP‐3 is one means by which IGF‐I‐induced proliferation is inhibited. Our work suggests that an alternative pathway exists by which IGF‐I and IGFBP‐3 both associate with the cell surface and that this association inhibits IGF‐I‐induced proliferation. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.