Transient increase in renal insulin-like growth factor binding proteins during initial kidney hypertrophy in experimental diabetes in rats

Abstract
The insulin-like growth factors, insulin-like growth factor I and insulin-like growth factor II are bound to six distinct classes of insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) in the circulation and in extracellular fluids. Diabetic renal hypertrophy is preceded by a transient increase in kidney insulin-like growth factor I suggestive of a renotropic function for insulin-like growth factor I. In order to examine a possible involvement of IGFBPs in initial diabetic kidney growth and in kidney insulin-like growth factor I accumulation, we studied rat kidney IGFBPs by ligand blotting during the first 4 days after induction of diabetes. Six distinct bands were identified in kidney and liver tissue with apparent molecular weight values of 38–47 (doublet), 34, 30, 24 and 20 kDa. The 38–47 kDa doublet band probably corresponds to the insulin-like growth factor binding subunit of IGFBP-3, the 24 kDa band to IGFBP4 and the 30 kDa band to IGFBP-1 and/or IGFBP-2, as these IGFBPs in rats have similar molecular weight. In untreated diabetic rats a transient increase in the kidney 30 kDa band was demonstrable 24 h after induction of diabetes with a maximal rise (two-fold) after 48 h, followed by a decrease to baseline values after 4 days. In untreated diabetic rats the 38–47 kDa doublet band also increased (two-fold) in kidney during the first 2 days after induction of diabetes, followed by a subsequent decrease. Insulin-treatment prevented both the increase in the 30 kDa and in the 38–47 kDa bands. Kidney weight in untreated diabetic rats increased by 26 % after 4 days. In conclusion, the present study shows a transient increase in the 30 kDa and the 38–47 kDa IGFBP species in hypertrophying diabetic kidneys, contemporarily with the previously described transient increase in extractable kidney insulin-like growth factor I content. These findings support the concept that IGFBPs may be involved in the action of insulin-like growth factor I and possibly in the diabetic kidney insulin-like growth factor I accumulation.

This publication has 9 references indexed in Scilit: