Insulinlike growth factor action and production in adipocytes and endothelial cells from human adipose tissue.

Primary cultures of microvascular endothelial cells and isolated adipocytes were prepared from human omental adipose tissue to study the potentially overlapping roles of insulin and insulinlike growth factors (IGFs) in human adipose tissue. To determine whether adipocytes contain type I IGF receptors, binding experiments were carried out with 125I-labeled IGF-I. At 16 degrees C, saturation of specific binding to adipocytes was reached after 30 min and was 0.7% per 10(6) cells. At 37 degrees C, chloroquine produced an increase in cell-associated 125I-IGF-I, suggesting that IGF-I is internalized and degraded in a manner analogous to insulin. In competition experiments, IGF-I competed for binding more effectively than rat IGF-II or insulin. The concentrations of IGF-I, rat IGF-II, and insulin necessary to displace 50% of 125I-IGF-I binding were 2.5, 15, and 90 nM, respectively. In addition, a monoclonal antibody (alpha-IR3) that has been shown to block the type I IGF receptor was used in competition binding experiments. The antibody also inhibited binding of 125I-IGF-I to adipocytes. The biological effects of insulin and IGF-I were examined by studying adipocyte lipoprotein lipase (LPL). Insulin stimulated [14C]glucose incorporation into cellular lipid in a dose-dependent manner, with 50% effective concentration (EC50) of 0.3 nM. However, an increase in LPL activity was observed only at a high insulin concentration, with an EC50 of approximately 30 nM. In contrast, IGF-I stimulated a progressive increase in LPL, with an EC50 of 3.2 nM. In addition, alpha-IR3 blocked the stimulatory effect of IGF-I on adipocyte LPL.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)