Induction of adipose fatty acid binding protein (a-FABP) by insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes.

Murine 3T3-L1 cells were cultured in the presence of fetal bovine serum (FBS) washed with an anion exchange resin and charcoal. Using the abundance of a-FABP and fatty acid synthase (FAS) as criteria of differentiation, IGF-1 was found to be 10-fold more potent than insulin as an inducer of preadipocyte differentiation. As little as 0.5 nM IGF-1 induced expression of FAS and a-FABP mRNAs whereas a minimum of 5 nM insulin was required. The data indicate IGF-1 specifically induces the expression of a-FABP in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes whereas the effect of insulin is likely via insulin's binding to the IGF-1 receptor.