Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) I and retinoic acid induce the synthesis of IGF-binding protein 5 in rat osteoblastic cells.

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) regulatory system has a major impact on bone physiology. Among the modulators of IGFs, a family of structurally related proteins, the IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs), have been shown to either potentiate or inhibit IGF actions on bone growth. However, the regulation of IGFBP expression in bone cells is not completely understood. In the present study, the expression of IGFBP-5 was analyzed in primary osteoblastic cells (Ob cells) isolated from 22-day-old fetal rat calvariae. Treatment of Ob cells with either IGF-I or all-trans-retinoic acid (RA) caused a time- and dose-dependent increase in IGFBP-5 messenger RNA (mRNA) levels, as determined by Northern blot analysis. Stimulation of IGFBP-5 mRNA was obtained at 100 nM IGF-I between 6 and 16 h (2- to 2.5-fold) and 100 nM RA between 16 and 24 h (3- to 4-fold). Concomitant treatment of Ob cells with IGF-I and RA revealed an additive effect and a 5- to 7-fold increase in IGFBP-5 mRNA levels after 16-24 h. The effect of IGF-I and RA and their combination on IGFBP-5 transcripts was similar in confluent and subconfluent cultures of Ob cells. IGF-I and RA did not change IGFBP-5 mRNA stability in Ob cells after transcription arrest with the RNA polymerase II inhibitor 5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl benzimidazole. IGF-I and RA at 100 nM elevated the levels of IGFBP-5 heterogenous nuclear RNA, measured by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The effect was similar to that observed on mRNA levels. IGFBP-5 from rat Ob cells appeared as a single band of 31 kilodaltons in both the conditioned medium and the extracellular matrix as determined by Western immunoblots. IGF-I and RA, both at 100 nM, increased IGFBP-5 by 2- to 3-fold after 24 h. In conclusion, IGF-I and RA modify the synthesis and secretion of IGFBP-5 in rat Ob cells through pathways that may involve increased transcription and elongation and/or altered processing of heterogenous nuclear RNA. Our data suggest that IGFBP-5 may play a role in the osteoblastic-differentiated function regulated by IGF-I and RA.