Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was recently shown to be an insulin-like growth factor-binding protein (IGFBP)-3 protease. However, only IGFBPs-2 and -4 have been identified in conditioned medium of prostate epithelial cells. Using cultures of human prostate epithelial and stromal fibroblastic cells, we examined conditioned medium and cell extracts for evidence of IGFBP-3 expression and secretion. Western ligand blotting of conditioned medium from epithelial or stromal cultures revealed the presence of IGFBPs in the molecular weight range 36–48 kDa, suggestive of IGFBP-3. Western immunoblots of these media confirmed the presence of IGFBP-3. Northern analyses of extracts of both stromal and epithelial cells showed a 2·5 kb band, the size of IGFBP-3 mRNA. We conclude that prostate cells express IGFBP-3 and that local proteolysis by PSA could modify this binding protein's actions in the prostate.

Journal of Endocrinology (1994) 141, 535–540