Gt. Ooi et al., CYCLOHEXIMIDE STABILIZES INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR-BINDING PROTEIN-1(IGFBP-1) MESSENGER-RNA AND INHIBITS IGFBP-1 TRANSCRIPTION IN H4-II-ERAT HEPATOMA-CELLS, The Journal of biological chemistry, 268(22), 1993, pp. 16664-16672
The insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins (IGFBPs) are a family
of six proteins that modulate the biological activity of IGF-I and IGF
-II and determine their bioavailability to tissues. One of the IGFBPs,
IGFBP-1, is distinctive in the dynamic response of its levels in huma
n plasma to metabolic changes. Parallel changes occur in IGFBP-1 mRNA
and IGFBP-1 transcription in rat liver. Using the well differentiated
H4-II-E rat hepatoma cell line as a model system, we demonstrated prev
iously that IGFBP-1 transcription is positively regulated by dexametha
sone and negatively regulated by insulin. We now examine the effect of
the protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide, on the hormonal regul
ation of IGFBP-1 gene expression. Preincubation of H4-II-E cells with
10.7 muM cycloheximide for 1.5 h did not prevent the induction of IGFB
P-1 mRNA and IGFBP-1 transcription (determined in nuclear run-on assay
s) by dexamethasone. By contrast, cycloheximide treatment abolished th
e decrease in IGFBP-1 mRNA induced by insulin. Insulin rapidly decreas
ed IGFBP-1 transcription in the absence of cycloheximide (>50% inhibit
ion in 20 min) and caused a similar decrease in cells pretreated with
cycloheximide. Cycloheximide alone also decreased IGFBP-1 transcriptio
n. Similar results were observed with a second protein synthesis inhib
itor, anisomycin, which also prevented the insulin-induced decrease in
IGFBP-1 mRNA without abolishing the insulin-induced inhibition of IGF
BP-1 transcription. These results suggest that although insulin decrea
ses IGFBP-1 gene transcription in the presence of protein synthesis in
hibitors, IGFBP-1 mRNA levels are maintained because of stabilization
of the mRNA. Stabilization was demonstrated directly in actinomycin D-
treated cells, where the t1/2 of IGFBP-1 mRNA increased from approxima
tely 2 to approximately 20 h in the presence of cycloheximide; insulin
did not affect IGFBP-1 mRNA turnover. Thus, cycloheximide-sensitive l
abile proteins contribute to the maintenance of basal IGFBP-1 promoter
activity and the rapid turnover of IGFBP-1 mRNA, which determine the
dynamic regulation of IGFBP-1 gene expression.