Recent evidence suggests that several growth factors participate in diabetic glomerular disease by mediating increased extracellular matrix accumulation and altered cell growth and turnover leading to mesangial expansion. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta has been demonstrated to be upregulated both in vivo and in vitro, whereas studies on the activity of the renal insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system in experimental diabetes have provided conflicting results. We investigated the effects of prolonged exposure (4 weeks) of cultured human and rat mesangial cells to high (30 mmol/l) glucose vs iso-osmolar mannitol or normal (5.5 mmol/l) glucose levels on: 1) the autocrine/paracrine activity of the IGF system (as assessed by measuring IGF-I and II, IGF-I and II receptors, and IGF binding proteins); and, in parallel, on 2) TGF-beta 1 gene expression; 3) matrix production; and 4) cell proliferation. High glucose levels progressively increased the medium content of IGF-I and the mRNA levels for IGF-I and IGF-II, increased IGF-I and IGF-II binding and IGF-I receptor gene expression, and reduced IGF binding protein production. TGF-beta 1 transcripts and matrix accumulation and gene expression were increased in parallel, whereas cell proliferation was reduced. Iso-osmolar mannitol did not affect any of the above parameters. These experiments demonstrated that high glucose levels induce enhanced mesangial IGF activity, together with enhanced TGF-beta 1 gene expression, increased matrix production, and reduced cell proliferation. It is possible that IGFs participate in mediating diabetes-induced changes in matrix turnover leading to mesangial expansion, by acting in a paracrine/autocrine fashion within the glomerulus.