Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)

Overview

IGF1 encodes insulin-like growth factor 1, a peptide growth factor with central roles in postnatal growth, tissue repair, metabolism, and endocrine signaling. It is a key mediator of Growth hormone (GH) action and is widely used as a circulating biomarker of growth axis activity. In physiology, IGF-1 supports skeletal growth, muscle maintenance, and anabolic processes, while also participating in broader pathways linked to insulin sensitivity, inflammation, and aging.

Clinically, IGF-1 is relevant across multiple disease areas, including short stature, acromegaly, haemophilic arthropathy, osteoarthritis, breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, and age-related musculoskeletal decline. Because IGF-1 reflects both endocrine status and local tissue biology, it is frequently studied as a biomarker, a mechanistic mediator, and a target within pathway-based analyses involving Growth hormone (GH), IGFBP-3, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), PI3K, vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), Leptin (LEP), and related signaling networks.

Recent Publications Summary

Recent studies have examined IGF-1 as a biomarker and mechanistic target across cancer, musculoskeletal disease, growth disorders, and inflammatory conditions. In gastric cancer, network pharmacology, molecular docking, 200 ns molecular dynamics simulations, and AGS cell-based assays were used to investigate quercetin, with IGF1 identified as a key hub gene linked to gastric cancer progression and predicted to bind favorably to quercetin 42295420Jun. In breast cancer among Palestinian women, serum IGF-1 was evaluated alongside IGFBP-3 polymorphism and hormone receptor status, with higher IGF-1 reported in ER(+)/PR(+) patients 42224209Jun. IGF-1 was also included among biomarkers associated with haemophilic arthropathy severity in a cross-sectional study, and in a study of short stature, height showed a strong positive correlation with IGF-1 in a large pediatric cohort 42217051May42175428May.

Other publications linked IGF-1 to growth and tissue remodeling in broader physiological and disease contexts. In an Indonesian birth cohort, plasma IGF-1 was assessed as a growth biomarker in relation to environmental enteric dysfunction and systemic inflammation, and IGF-1 was identified as a significant determinant of length-for-age z-score at 12 months 42132033May. In acromegaly, postoperative discordance between GH and IGF-1 was highlighted as a clinically relevant issue that complicates interpretation of disease activity 42177388May. IGF-1 also appeared in a bibliometric review of growth factors in osteoarthritis, where it was among the frequently studied factors associated with angiogenesis and chondrogenesis 41890882Mar.

Several studies suggested IGF-1 involvement in signaling networks related to metabolism, inflammation, and aging. In HR+/HER2- breast cancer organoid and coculture models, palbociclib was reported to promote fibroblast cellular senescence and increase IGF1 and FGF7, contributing to an immunosuppressive microenvironment through STAT3 Tyr705 phosphorylation and ARG1 upregulation 41986650Apr. In a murine model of muscular trichinellosis, IGF-1 was among the signaling molecules assessed in relation to muscle regeneration and inflammatory responses after treatment with ivermectin nanoparticles and Moringa oleifera nanoparticles 42035901Apr. IGF-1 was also identified as a hub target in a network pharmacology analysis of Yinxingye tablets for oxidative stress, and as a key gene in shared transcriptomic signatures of caloric restriction and endurance exercise in elderly skeletal muscle 42104588May41794155Mar.

What Changes, What Holds

1. IGF-1 is being used as a cross-disease biomarker and mechanistic hub, but the new work mostly sharpens existing roles rather than redefining them
REINFORCES These studies extend the established view of IGF-1 as a circulating biomarker and pathway node in cancer, short stature, and haemophilic arthropathy. The gastric cancer and breast cancer findings add disease-specific associations, while the pediatric height correlation and arthropathy data reinforce its clinical readout value. Nothing here displaces the Overview’s account of IGF-1 as a marker and mediator; the main change is broader empirical support across additional cohorts 42295420Jun42224209Jun.

2. IGF-1 remains a growth-axis readout, but postoperative GH–IGF-1 mismatch complicates its clinical interpretation
NEW DIRECTION The acromegaly finding does not overturn IGF-1’s role as a biomarker of growth hormone activity; instead, it shows that the marker can diverge from GH after surgery, which matters for monitoring disease activity. That adds a practical caution to the Overview’s clinical use of IGF-1 and suggests single-analyte interpretation may be insufficient in some postoperative settings. The growth and osteoarthritis papers mainly reinforce its established roles in development and tissue remodeling 42177388May41890882Mar.

3. IGF-1 is increasingly implicated in inflammatory and metabolic remodeling networks beyond its core anabolic role
NEW DIRECTION These studies broaden the Overview’s account by placing IGF-1 in senescence-linked stromal signaling, muscle regeneration under infection, oxidative-stress networks, and exercise/caloric-restriction signatures. That does not contradict its known roles in metabolism and tissue repair, but it does move IGF-1 from a general growth mediator toward a more context-dependent participant in inflammatory and aging biology. The breast cancer organoid work is especially notable for linking IGF1 induction to STAT3-driven immunosuppression 41986650Apr42104588May.

Overview update candidates: postoperative GH–IGF-1 discordance as a monitoring caveat; broader context-dependent involvement of IGF-1 in inflammatory; senescence; and aging-related signaling networks.