Evidence suggests that insulin-like growth factors-I and -II (IGF-I and II) play a role in regulating fetal growth and development. In the fetus, IGF-I and -II are complexed with two specific binding proteins (IGFBP-1 and -2), which are thought to modulate the actions of the IGFs in target tissues. We examined regulation of the genes for IGF-I, IGF-II, IGFBP-1, and IGFBP-2 in fetal rat liver in an experimental model for intrauterine growth retardation caused by maternal fasting on days 17-21 of gestation. The mean weight of fetuses from the fasted dams was 27-32% lower than the mean weight of fetuses from the fed dams. The concentration of immunoreactive IGF-I was decreased by 71% in serum of fetuses from the fasting dams. The concentration of immunoreactive IGF-II was slightly decreased (by 12%) in serum of fetuses from the fasting dams, whereas the concentration of immunoreactive pro-IGF-II E-domain peptide was decreased by 31%. The abundance of hepatic IGF-I mRNA was decreased by 55% in fetuses from the fasting dams. In contrast, the abundance of IGF-II mRNA in fetal liver was not significantly decreased by maternal fasting. Maternal fasting caused a 2-fold increase in the abundance of IGFBP-1 mRNA in fetal liver, whereas it did not change the abundance of IGFBP-2 mRNA. The induction of IGFBP-1 mRNA in liver of the growth-retarded fetuses is similar to the induction that occurs in liver of fasting adults, while the lack of regulation of IGFBP-2 mRNA differs from the strong induction of IGFBP-2 mRNA that occurs in liver of fasting adults. In summary, these results indicate that maternal fasting causes a decrease in fetal IGF-I gene expression, a decrease in fetal serum IGF-I, and a slight decrease in fetal serum IGF-II and pro-IGF-II E-domain peptide concentrations. Maternal fasting also causes an increase in fetal IGFBP-1 gene expression. Changes in fetal insulin and glucose may be related to changes in expression of the IGF-I and IGFBP-1 genes in the growth-retarded fetuses. The decreased expression of IGF-I and -II and increased expression of the IGFBP-1 gene may contribute to the fetal growth retardation observed in this model system.