Insulin-like growth factors (IGF-I and IGF-II) are well known trophic factors and their specific receptors are uniquely distributed throughout the brain, being especially concentrated in the hippocampal formation. IGFs possess neurotrophic activities in the hippocampus, an area severely affected in Alzheimer disease. These data, together with the evidence that beta-amyloid (Abeta)-derived pepti...

This study used a cross-sectional design to investigate relationships among serum insulin-like growth factor (IGF) parameters (total serum IGF-I, IGF-II, and IGF-binding protein-3), serum estradiol, and bone mineral density (BMD) stratified for potential confounders, and a longitudinal design to investigate the effects of hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) on IGFs and BMD. Five hundred and nine...

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are potent inducers of skeletal muscle differentiation and phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase activity is essential for this process. Here we show that IGF-II induces nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and nitric-oxide synthase (NOS) activities downstream from PI 3-kinase and that these events are critical for myogenesis. Differentiation of rat L6E9 myoblasts w...

It is recognized that insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are bound to specific high-affinity insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins (IGFBPs). The role of IGFBPs in bone metabolism is not well established. The effect of recombinant human [Cys281]IGFBP-2 ([Cys281]rhIGFBP-2) on bone formation in 21-day-old fetal rat calvariae was investigated. [Cys281]rhIGFBP-2 was expressed in and purified f...

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are key regulators of development, growth, and longevity. In most vertebrate species including humans, there is one IGF-1 gene and one IGF-2 gene. Here we report the identification and functional characterization of 4 distinct IGF genes (termed as igf-1a, -1b, -2a, and -2b) in zebrafish. These genes encode 4 structurally distinct and functional IGF peptides. I...

Recent findings have indicated that insulin-like growth factors (IGF-I and IGF-II) may play a role in neoplasia. Alteration of serum IGFs or IGF Binding Proteins (IGFBPs) have been reported in some tumors. In this study, we measured serum IGF-I, IGF-II and IGFBPs profile in gastric cancer by radioimmunoassay and Western ligand blots. The serum IGF-I level in gastric cancer was significantly low...

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are known to have potent antiapoptotic activity. The antiestrogen ICI 182,780 (ICI) is a potent inhibitor of MCF7 human breast cancer cell growth and has recently been reported to act as an antiproliferative agent in part via upregulation of expression of insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) -3 and -5, which attenuate the bioactivity of IGFs in...

Nutritional factors might play a role in regulating serum levels of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), which are associated with some cancers. We examined the associations of nutritional factors with IGF-1 and IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3). Serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels and dietary intake were measured in 459 black and 682 white male subjects of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young...

Objective: Insulin-like growth factors (IGF) are increasingly recognized as important determinants of adult health, in particular risk of certain cancers. However, little is known about the determinants of adult IGFs and to what degree they may be programmed by early life influences. Design: Randomized controlled trial of prenatal and postnatal milk supplementation among 951 subjects born in 19...

The IGF system performs a fundamental role in the regulation of cellular proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. These diverse biological actions are mediated primarily by IGF association with the type I IGF receptor (IGF-IR), which is in turn regulated by a group of high-affinity IGF-binding proteins (IGFBP-1 to -6). All of the IGFBPs can have growth-inhibitory effects by competitively b...