The Biological Role of Insulin-Like Growth Factor binding Protein-2 in Tumorigenesis and Metabolic Homeostasis

Abstract

The Insulin-Like Growth Factor (IGF) system is involved in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation and sustains survival in several tissues. The Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins (IGFBPs) are a family of six proteins with high-affinity for IGFs that comprise an important part of the IGF system. IGFBPs have been demonstrated to modulate IGF bioactivity in a spatiotemporal way. This effect on IGF actions can both be stimulatory and inhibitory. More recently, IGF-independent effects of IGFBPs have been revealed that play important roles in tumor cell growth and progression. IGFBP-2 is the second most abundant IGFBP in circulation and its expression pattern has been shown to be altered in many pathological conditions. This review focuses on the biological role of IGFBP-2 in tumorigenesis and metabolic homeostasis.