Insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1 expression inhibits insulin- like growth factor I action in MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Interactions between insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and the type I IGF receptor may be affected by high-affinity extracellular binding proteins. To date, six distinct IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs) have been identified, but their physiological roles are not well understood. For example, depending on experimental conditions, IGFBP-1 has been shown to both enhance and inhibit IGF-I mediated mitogenesis. We have previously shown that excess exogenous IGFBP-1 inhibited IGF-I mediated growth of MCF-7 cells. In this study, we examined whether or not endogenously expressed IGFBP-1 could interfere with IGF-I mediated growth of MCF-7 cells. Cells were stably transfected with an IGFBP-1 expression vector. IGFBP-1 mRNA was produced by the cells, and protein was detected in the conditioned media by ligand blot and immunoblot. Type I IGF receptor could not be phosphorylated by IGF-I in cells expressing IGFBP-1; however, an IGF-I analogue (Arg-3-IGF-I), which cannot complex with IGFBPs, stimulated receptor phosphorylation. IGF-I did not stimulate cell growth in IGFBP-1 expressing cells. These results suggest that IGFBP-1 expression in MCF-7 breast cancer cells inhibits IGF-I induced growth by interrupting the interaction between IGF-I and its receptor.