Short stature and decreased growth velocity are prominent features of endogenous and pharmacological glucocorticoid excess in children. Underlying processes may involve direct cellular effects or defective generation of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and/or IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs), which modulate IGF-stimulated events and regulate growth. To evaluate potential mechanisms, we investigated the impact of dexamethasone (dex) on hepatic expression of IGFBP-3, the major carrier protein for IGFs. Using cocultured hepatic parenchymal and nonparenchymal cells, dex at 10(-8) and 10(-6) M decreased IGFBP-3 secretion by 67 +/- 9% and 73 +/- 9%, respectively (both P < 0.05 vs. no dex). In a separate experiment, IGFBP-3 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression was decreased by 84 +/- 2% and 75 +/- 2% (both P < 0.05 vs. no dex). In combined studies, levels of IGFBP-3 protein in conditioned medium were strongly correlated with the abundance of IGFBP-3 mRNA (r = 0.75; P < 0.01), consistent with regulation at a pretranslational level. After inhibition of transcription, levels of IGFBP-3 mRNA decreased 85% and 86% over 24 h in cells cultured in 10(-6) M and no dex, respectively; the t1/2 was 13.6 h at 10(-6) M and 12.6 h with no dex, indicating that dex had no effect on IGFBP-3 mRNA stability. To evaluate transcriptional effects, the rate of IGFBP-3 gene transcription was measured by incorporation of [alpha-32P]UTP into preinitiated message in isolated nuclei and fell 78% after the addition of 10(-6) M dex for 48 h (compared to cells cultured in 10(-9) M dex), an inhibition of a magnitude similar to the effects on protein release and mRNA abundance. We conclude that dex may reduce the production of IGFBP-3 by inhibiting IGFBP-3 gene transcription.