Insulin-like growth factor I receptors on blood cells: their relationship to circulating total and "free" IGF-I, IGFBP-1, IGFBP-3 and insulin levels in healthy subjects

The relationships between the insulin-like growth factor I/insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGF-I/IGFBP) system and the IGF-I receptor characteristics on erythrocytes and PBMCs in healthy subjects in the fasting state were studied to establish whether this would be a valid way of examining IGF-I receptors in vivo. The K(d) of the IGF-I receptor on erythrocytes was positively related to circulating "free" IGF-I levels. For the IGF-I receptor on PBMCs no relationship was observed with "free" IGF-I levels. IGFBP-3 levels were inversely related to the number of IGF-I binding sites on erythrocytes and to the K(d) of the IGF-I receptor on PBMCs. Total IGF-I, insulin and IGFBP-1 levels showed no relation to the IGF-I receptor on erythrocytes and PBMCs in the fasting state. This report suggests that studies of IGF-I receptor characteristics on erythrocytes and PBMCs in the fasting state are cell-specific and cannot be extrapolated to other cell types, which may be more relevant target tissues for IGF-I action in vivo.