Abstract

The IGF system is involved in the growth and differentiation of neuroblastoma cells, but the precise roles played by the IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) remain unknown. We have examined the expression and functions of IGFBPs produced by the neuroblastoma cell line, SHSY5Y, in the presence of: insulin, IGF-I, IGF-II, des(1–3)IGF-I (an IGF-I analogue with weak affinity for IGFBPs), acidic fibroblast growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, or nerve growth factor. Under basal conditions, SH-SY5Y cells in serum-free medium secreted IGF-II, and traces of IGF-I, IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-4. After 24 h of culture, comparative mitogenic potencies were: des(1–3)IGF-I>IGF-1>IGF-II>insulin. After 48 h, when IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-4 concentrations in the culture media had increased, des(1–3)IGF-I remained the most active, but the activity of insulin now equalled or exceeded that of IGF-I and IGF-II. This suggests a negative feedback mechanism involving partial sequestration of IGF-I and IGF-II by IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-4. At high cell density and with high concentrations of IGF-I, des(1–3)IGF-I (40 ng/ml) or IGF-II (80 ng/ml), the mitogenic activities of the IGFs diminished concomitantly with the appearance in the culture medium of an additional IGFBP identified as IGFBP-6, whose production depended on activation of the type 1 IGF receptor. These findings suggest that IGFBP-6 contributes as an autocrine inhibitor in the regulation of growth by the IGF system in these neuroblastoma cells.

Journal of Endocrinology (1997) 152, 221–227

With a view to investigating the implication of IGF-binding protein-6 (IGFBP-6) in the growth of neuroblastomas, nude mice were injected with IGFBP-6-expressing or control IGR-N-91 human neuroblastoma cells and the resulting xenografts examined. Expression of IGFBP-3, IGFBP-4 and type 1 and type 2 IGF receptor messengers was similar in control tumours and equal-sized IGFBP-6-expressing tumours that had developed. IGF-II was more strongly expressed in control tumours, and IGFBP-6-expressing tumours contained less IGFBP-2 than controls. In both populations, there was a significant positive correlation between IGF-II and IGFBP-2 expression. In small IGFBP-6-expressing xenografts where tumour development had apparently been arrested, haematoxylin--eosin and TUNEL staining revealed numerous apoptotic cells. In situ hybridization indicated homogeneous distribution of the IGFBP-6 signal in test tumours. In cell culture, IGFBP-6-expressing cells expressed similar amounts of IGFBP-2, IGF-II and N-myc mRNAs as control cells; but media conditioned by IGFBP-6-expressing cells contained less intact IGFBP-2 protein, with no increase in its proteolytic fragment. In media treated with plasminogen, in which IGFBP-2 was proteolysed, IGFBP-6 was increased. With its especially strong affinity for IGF-II and its resistance to proteolysis, IGFBP-6 would act by sequestering IGF-II, hence inhibiting its mitogenic and anti-apoptotic effects. In excess, IGFBP-6 would displace IGF-II from IGFBP-2 whose potentiation of IGF-II action would cease and whose susceptibility to degradation would be increased. This study therefore shows that IGFBP-6 plays a role in neuroblastoma cell growth in vivo and in vitro and that stable overexpression of IGFBP-6 leads to alteration of the initial balance between the IGFBPs.

Insulin-like growth factors (IGF-I and IGF-II) stimulate proliferation and differentiation in many cell types. In biological fluids, they associate non-covalently with high-affinity binding proteins (IGFBPs) which control their bioavailability and modulate their action. We previously demonstrated that IGFBP-2, -4 and -6 are intimately involved in the growth of cells derived from human neuroblastomas. Here, we have investigated the effects of retinoic acid (RA), which induces differentiation in these cells, on the expression of IGFBPs secreted by SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells. Analysis of transcriptional activity of the IGFBP-2, -4 and -6 genes in isolated nuclei (run-on experiments) showed that RA increased the transcriptional activity of the IGFBP-6 gene, reduced that of the IGFBP-4 gene and had no effect on that of the IGFBP-2 gene. Northern blot analysis following treatment with actinomycin D showed that RA increased the stability of IGFBP-6 mRNA by a factor of 2.6, decreased that of IGFBP-2 mRNA by a factor of 2.3 and failed to affect IGFBP-4 mRNA. Treatment of cells with cycloheximide indicated the involvement of labile proteins in the stabilization of these mRNAs the expression of which could be under the control of RA. The transcriptional and/or post-transcriptional mechanisms by which RA regulates each of the IGFBPs produced by SK-N-SH cells are therefore different. Such regulation may also reflect the state of differentiation of the neuroblastoma cells. With RA-induced differentiation, IGFBP-6 is strongly stimulated, whereas IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-4 are severely depressed, which would suggest that each IGFBP plays a specific role. Moreover, this regulation seems tissue-specific because it is different in other cell types.