Evidence for production by the liver of two IGF binding proteins with similar molecular weights but different affinities for IGF I and IGF II. Their relations with serum and cerebrospinal fluid IGF binding proteins.

Studies of the competitive binding of IGF I and IGF II and 125I-labelled IGF I and IGF II to the specific binding proteins (BPs) produced by the liver in culture suggest that two BPs exist, one with a selective affinity for IGF I and the other with a selective affinity for IGF II. The ratio of the former BP to the latter appeared to be higher in the culture medium of young rat livers and of fetal human livers than that in the culture medium of adult human livers. The two BPs form complexes with their IGFs with the same apparent molecular weight of approximately 40K. With gel filtration of adult human serum both types of BP eluted with the greater than 100K and the 40-70K molecular weight material. The BP with the selective affinity for IGF II predominated in the 40-70K material as well as in the cerebrospinal fluid of adult human subjects.