Em. Rutanen et al., INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH-FACTORS AND THEIR BINDING-PROTEINS IN BENIGN AND MALIGNANT UTERINE DISEASES, Growth regulation, 3(1), 1993, pp. 74-77
Evidence available supports the concept that the proliferative respons
e of the uterus to oestrogen is through activation of local regulatory
factors, IGFs amongst them. Oestrogen stimulates the expression of IG
F-I and IGF-I receptor mRNAs, whereas progesterone induces the major e
ndometrial IGFBP, IGFBP-1, which is proposed to act as an inhibitor of
IGF actions in normal endometrium. Since both benign and malignant ut
erine diseases are related to oestrogen action, the hormonally regulat
ed local IGF system may play an important role in the pathophysiology
of uterine diseases. In support of this hypothesis, we found differenc
es in the expression of IGFBP mRNAs and in the presence of translated
IGFBPs between benign and malignant uterine tissues. Furthermore, rece
ptor binding of IGF-I has been found to be higher in neoplastic uterin
e tissues compared to normal tissues.