Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 is correlated with low density lipoprotein cholesterol in normal subjects

Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) has been inversely associated with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in normal women with slightly elevated cholesterol levels and hypothyroid women. More than 95% of IGF-I circulates bound to binding proteins (IGFBPs); of these IGFBP-1 is of particular interest as it is inversely regulated by insulin and is thought to inhibit the action of IGF-I and IGF-II. We examined the relationship between IGFBP-1 and LDL cholesterol in 41 healthy adult subjects. LDL cholesterol correlated with the body mass index (r = 0.40, P < 0.01), sex (r = 0.51, P < 0.001) and IGFBP-1 levels (r = 0.36, P < 0.02). LDL cholesterol did not correlate with age (r = 0.25, P = not significant) or IGF-I (r = 0.06, P = not significant). Upon multivariate regression analysis, sex, body mass index and IGFBP-1 were all independent predictors of LDL cholesterol (all P < 0.05). Elevated IGFBP-1 levels have been associated with an inhibition of serum IGF-I bioactivity in children with insulin-dependent diabetes. IGFBP-1 also appears to inhibit IGF-I hexose-stimulated uptake. IGFBP-1 may also be inhibiting the effect of IGFs on the cellular metabolism of LDL cholesterol.