IGF‐I and IGF‐II are growth‐stimulating peptides with strong mitogenic properties. These polypeptide growth factors circulate in serum bound to specific binding proteins. We report the cloning and complete sequence of a cDNA encoding a low mol. wt IGF‐binding protein from a human placenta cDNA library. We propose the designation IGF‐binding protein 1 (IBP‐1) for the gene and corresponding protein. Expression of the cDNA encoding IBP‐1 in COS cells resulted in the synthesis of a 30‐kd protein which binds IGF‐I and is immunologically indistinguishable from the IGF‐binding protein isolated from amniotic fluid or human serum. Northern blotting analysis demonstrated that expression of the IBP‐1 gene is highly tissue specific and limited to placental membranes and fetal liver suggesting a rigid control. The IBP‐1 gene is a single copy gene, located on chromosome 7. The results obtained suggest that most, if not all, lower mol. wt IGF‐binding proteins originate from this gene.

Amniotic fluid binding protein (AFBP) is a heat and acid stable somatomedin (Sm)-binding protein with a mol wt of 35-40,000 and an isoelectric point of +/- 4.7. It is reactive in RRAs for Sm and inhibits Sm activity in Sm bioassays. AFBP was purified from midgestational human amniotic fluid (AF) using acid-ethanol extraction, Sephadex G-150 chromatography, high speed gel filtration chromatography, and disc gel-electrophoresis. Specific binding activity (microgram equivalents per mg protein) was quantitated by incubation with 125I-insulin-like growth factor II and dextran-coated charcoal separation. Protein recovery was less than 1%. AFBP antiserum was produced by immunizing rabbits with purified AFBP. The antiserum was cleared of human serum albumin antibodies by affinity chromatography. Immunoelectrophoresis of 20x concentrated preterm AF and fetal serum resulted in one precipitin line. AFBP was labeled by the chloramine-T method. The AFBP antiserum specifically bound +/- 35% of added 125I-AFBP at a final dilution of 1:5000. A double antibody RIA was developed. The AFBP level measured by RIA in midgestation AF (n = 30) was 148 +/- 18 (SEM) and in term AF (n = 12) 72 +/- 36 mu geq/ml. Insulin-like growth factor I/Sm-C values (determined by RIA) in the same samples were uniformly very low (less than 0.10 U/ml). When serum was chromatographed on Sephadex G-200 at pH 2.2, AFBP-RIA activity eluted in one peak corresponding to a mol wt of 35-40,000. Highest activity was found in fetal serum (gestational age +/- 20 weeks) and lowest in serum from adults. The development of the AFBP-RIA may contribute to further elucidation of the physiological importance of Sm and the Sm-binding proteins in pre- and postnatal growth.

We developed a specific RIA for a somatomedin (Sm)-binding protein, with an approximate mol wt of 35-40,000, purified from midgestational human amniotic fluid (AF) and termed AF-binding protein (AFBP). After Sephadex G-200 chromatography AFBP-RIA activity was found in fractions of fetal and cord serum only at a kav corresponding to a mol wt of +/- 40,000. Whole serum or plasma dilutions in a range of 1:20 to 1:600 showed parallelism with the standard curve. Sm-binding activity in fetal serum was found solely at a mol wt of 30-40,000; in cord serum additionally at a mol wt range of 150-200,000. AFBP serum or plasma concentrations determined by RIA were influenced by several factors: AFBP values in eight adults were highest in the morning (mean +/- SEM, 0.7 +/- 0.1 mu geq/ml) and lowest at night (0.3 +/- 0.1). AFBP values in pre- and postnatal serum showed a gradual decline with increasing age: fetal serum: mean +/- SEM, 36.7 +/- 15.7 (n = 17); adults: 0.6 +/- 0.07 mu geq/ml (n = 19). In serum from GH-deficient children AFBP concentrations were significantly higher than in an age-matched control group (P less than 0.05). Elevated values also were found in serum of children with end-stage renal failure and in serum of pregnant women at 36 weeks of gestation. AFBP was found in urine of preterm infants (mean +/- SEM, 0.04 +/- 0.005 mu geq/ml; n = 31). AFBP immunoreactivity was demonstrable in serum of three orangoutan mothers and their three children and in medium of a hepatoma cell line (PLC/PRF/5) but not in bovine, porcine, rabbit, or rat serum or in medium of cell cultures of (pre-)term placentae. We conclude that AFBP immunoreactivity is present in pre- and postnatal serum and has striking similarity to an unsaturated serum Sm-binding protein with a mol wt of +/- 40,000.

In an attempt to define domains in insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) that are involved in IGF binding, we subjected the carboxyl end of the coding region of IGFBP-1 cDNA to mutagenesis. Mutant cDNAs were isolated, characterized by sequencing, and cloned in an expression vector under control of the simian virus-40 (SV40) early promoter. The constructs were transfected into COS-1 cells, and the mutant proteins, secreted into the culture medium, were analyzed for IGF binding by ligand blotting. The results obtained show that deletion of the C-terminal 20 amino acids or introduction of frame-shifts in this region resulted in loss of IGF binding and for some mutants in the formation of dimeric IGFBP-1 molecules. These dimers are probably formed when cysteine-226 (Cys-226) is missing, and its putative partner is able to form intermolecular disulfide bonds. Site-directed mutagenesis demonstrated that most of the introduced point mutations in the C-terminal region did not affect IGF binding. Only mutation of Cys-226 to tyrosine completely abolished IGF binding, as did the introduction of a negatively charged amino acid in the vicinity of this residue. Again, dimers were observed, supporting that Cys-226 is essential for the conformation of IGFBP-1. In addition, our data suggest that an IGF-binding domain may be located in the vicinity of the intramolecular disulfide bond formed by Cys-226 and its putative partner.

By using the chemical cross-linking agent dis-succinimidyl suberate and [125I]somatomedin-C/insulin-like growth factor I (Sm-C/IGF-I) to affinity label Sm-binding proteins, we identified a 30,000- to 40,000-dalton (30-40K) [125I] Sm-C-binding protein complex in midterm amniotic fluid and cord blood. An antibody raised against a Sm-binding protein purified from midterm amniotic fluid recognized this labeled complex not only in amniotic fluid but also in fetal serum and term cord and several postnatal human plasmas, indicating that the 30-40K Sm-binding proteins in each are similar or identical. The binding proteins in amniotic fluid appear to possess binding sites specific for Sm-C, because under the conditions employed, unlabeled Sm-C was at least 10-fold more potent than IGF-II or multiplication-stimulating activity in competing with [125I]Sm-C for binding. Although [125I]GF-II could be cross-linked to similarly sized proteins, unlabeled Sm-C also competed for this binding better than either unlabeled IGF-II or MSA (at least 5-fold greater potency). These findings suggest that this amniotic fluid Sm-binding protein is primarily a carrier of Sm-C, but does not exclude the possibility that a binding site or a distinct binding protein exists which is specific for IGF-II but not amenable to cross-linking by the procedure used. Because unlabeled Sm-C was less potent in inhibiting the binding of [125I]Sm-C to amniotic fluid than to cord plasma proteins, the amniotic fluid binding protein is either more abundant or less avidly binds [125I]Sm-C than the cord plasma binding protein.