Prostate carcinoma (PC-3) cell proliferation is stimulated by the 22-25-kDa proteolytic fragment (1-160) and inhibited by the 16-kDa fragment (1-95) of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3. 
In a previous study, the biphasic effect of increasing dosages of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (rhIGFBP-3) on proliferation in the prostate carcinoma PC-3 cell line (stimulation followed by depression) was shown to reflect changes in the bioavailability of IGF-II secreted by the cells, IGF-II being the major factor responsible for their autocrine growth.  These changes depend on the extent of IGFBP-3 proteolysis induced by serine proteases, in particular, plasmin.  In order to examine the mechanism of action of IGFBP-3, we investigated the effects of its two major fragments isolated by HPLC following limited proteolysis by plasmin in vitro.  The predominant fragment with an apparent molecular mass of 22-25 kDa in SDS-PAGE (under non-reducing conditions) had previously been shown to retain weak affinity for IGFs, whereas the other fragment of 16 kDa lost all such affinity.  From their recently determined amino acid sequences, these fragments correspond to the first 160 and 95 residues, respectively, of IGFBP-3.  0.5-5 nM intact rhIGFBP-3(1-264), when pre-incubated with 5 nM rhIGF-II, dose-dependently inhibited (up to 100%) its mitogenic effect, via sequestration owing to its strong affinity for IGF-II.  The same concentrations of the larger fragment (IGFBP-3(1-160)) elicited only weak inhibition (up to 30%), coherent with its weak affinity.  The smaller fragment (IGFBP-3(1-95)) provoked total inhibition despite its lack of affinity for IGFs and therefore by an IGF-independent mechanism.  PC-3 cells in serum-free medium were weakly stimulated by 5 nM intact IGFBP-3.  This had previously been shown to be related to its proteolysis and the ratio of proteolysed to intact IGFBP-3.  At the same concentration, IGFBP-3(1-160) stimulated this proliferation by a factor of 5-7, whereas IGFBP-3(1-95) totally suppressed it.  5 nM IGFBP-3(1-95) inhibited the mitogenic action of 1% fetal calf serum by 80%, but by only 25% in the presence of an antibody blocking the type 1 IGF receptor.  Its inhibition is therefore exerted principally, but not exclusively, via the IGF signalling pathway.  Our data indicate that the IGFBP-3 fragments composed of residues 1-160 and 1-95 are biologically active on PC-3 cells and that their opposite actions may account for the events observed when IGFBP-3 is proteolysed in the cell environment.  These proteolytic fragments may therefore play a role in the development of prostate adenocarcinomas in vivo.