Jacobson, & Getty, 1962). The growth of rumen papillae increases the surface area of the rumen and the absorption of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs: acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid, among others). Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of growth of rumen papillae and rumen epithelial cells is important for devising strategies to improve ruminant productivity. Previously, it was shown that rumen papillae developed remarkably when the feed was changed from milk to roughage or a concentrated diet. The growth of rumen papillae was induced by SCFAs, and butyrate was the most potent activator of rumen papillae growth (Sakata & Tamate, 1978). However, the molecular mechanism regulating the growth of rumen papillae remains unclear. Six isoforms of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein (IGFBP) are known to regulate epithelial cell proliferation and differentiation in some tissues by controlling the activity of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) or insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) (Firth & Baxter, 2002). For example, IGFBP4 bound to IGF-I in the small intestine of mice and prevented IGF-I binding to its receptors and cell proliferation (Austin, Imam, Pintar, & Brubaker, 2015). IGFBP2 prevented cell proliferation in human embryonic kidney fibroblasts and the small intestine (Corkins,