Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins Profiles in Sera of Patients with Uterine Myoma Before and After Hystrectomy

Noh, K R; Kim, J K

Abstract

It has been suggested that insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system plays an pivotal role in the growth of uterine myoma. Recent reports have shown that serum IGF-I levels are normal in women with uterine myoma. IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs), as elements of IGF system, are known to be involved in the transport of IGFs to the tissue and in the modulation of IGF`s action at target cell. The synthesis of IGFBPs in uterine myoma has been demonstrated. The purposes of this study are to examine the possible involvement of circulating IGFBPs in the growth of uterine myoma and to investigate whether the synthesis of IGFBPs in uterine tissue can affect their own levels in the peripheral blood. IGFBPs were measured by Western ligand blot and immunoprecipitation in sera obtained from patients (n=16) with uterine myoma undergoing hysterectomy and from patients (n=14, control patients) undergoing tubal reanastomosis before and after operation. The preoperative level of serum IGFBP-2 in patients with uterine myoma was significantly lower than that in control patients but there were no significant differences in the preoperative levels of any other IGFBPs and the preoperative proportions of IGFBPs. The serum IGFBP-3 level in both group decreased significantly on 2 day after operation and restored toward the preoperative level on 6 day after operation. Serum IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-1 levels show similiar patterns in both groups. In contrast the postoperative level of serum IGFBP-4 increased significantly in both groups. Postoperatively, the proportion of serum IGFBP-4 increased significantly whereas the proportions of IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-2 did not changed significantly in both groups. Serum IGFBP-2 level on 6 day after operation was significantly higher in patients with uterine myoma than in control patients, but there were no significant differences in the postoperative levels of any other IGFBPs and the postoperative proportions of IGFBPs between patients with uterine myoma and control patients. These data indicate that circulating IGFBP profiles can contribute to the growth of uterine myoma and may not be affected by local production of IGFBPs in uterine tissues and that the postoperative changes in these profiles may reflect one of host defense mechanism during the early postoperative period.