Coordinate tropic hormone regulation of mRNAs for insulin-like growth factor II and the cholesterol side-chain-cleavage enzyme, P450scc [corrected], in human steroidogenic tissues.

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are single-chain polypeptides important for cell proliferation and growth. IGFs are produced in several tissues, suggesting that they function in a paracrine or autocrine fashion as well as functioning as endocrine hormones. We studied the hormonal regulation of IGF-I and IGF-II mRNA in human steroidogenic tissues. In cultured human ovarian granulosa cells, follicle-stimulating hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin, and dibutyryl cAMP increased IGF-II mRNA, but corticotropin [adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)], chorionic somatomammotropin, growth hormone, prolactin, dexamethasone, estradiol, and progesterone had no effect. In cultured human fetal adrenal cells, ACTH and dibutyryl cAMP increased IGF-II mRNA accumulation, but human chorionic gonadotropin and angiotensin II did not. The same five size species of IGF-II mRNA were detected in transfer blots of RNA from granulosa cells and fetal adrenal cells, and all of these increased after hormonal stimuli. Dibutyryl cAMP also increased IGF-II mRNA accumulation in cultured human placental cells. Accumulation of mRNA for the cholesterol side-chain-cleavage monooxygenase [P450scc [corrected]; cholesterol, reduced-adrenal-ferredoxin:oxygen oxidoreductase (side-chain-cleaving), EC 1.14.15.6] was regulated in parallel with IGF-II mRNA in all these steroidogenic tissues. IGF-I mRNA was not detected in transfer blots of these RNAs, and the minimal amounts detected in dot blots showed no detectable change after any of the hormonal stimuli studied. The data indicate that the IGF-II gene is expressed in human steroidogenic tissues and is regulated by cAMP. These data suggest that IGF-II may act in an autocrine or paracrine fashion to stimulate the adrenal and gonadal growth stimulated by ACTH and gonadotropins, respectively.