Biological Activity
Binding assays of the 125I-Gealthead Seabream IGF1 to Gilthead Seabream or carp (Cyprinus carpio) sera resulted in high specific binding, indicating the existence of one or more IGF-binding proteins. In binding experiments to crude Gilthead Seabream brain homogenate, using human (h) IGF-I as a ligand, the respective IC50 value of hIGF1 was about fourfold lower than that of Gilthead Seabream IGF-1. Recombinant Gilthead Seabream IGF-1 exhibited mitogenic activity in a mouse mammary gland-derived MME-L1 cell line which was approximately 200-fold lower than that of hIGF1. Binding experiments to intact MME-L1 cells suggests that this difference most likely results from a correspondingly lower affinity for IGF1 receptor in these cells. In contrast, the activities of Gilthead Seabream IGF-I and hIGF-I measured by 35S uptake by gill arches from the goldfish (Carassius auratus) were identical, indicating that the recombinant Gilthead Seabream IGF-I is biologically active.