It has been reported that the dysfunctions of podocytes are associated with the development of diabetic nephropathy. In addition, insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are associated with the development of diabetic nephropathy. However, it is not yet known about the effect of high glucose on IGF-I, -II secretion, and IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs) expression in the podocytes. Thus, this study was conducted to examine the effect of high glucose on IGF system and its involvement of protein kinase C (PKC) and mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in podocytes. In this study, high glucose (25 mM) increased IGF-I and IGF-II secretion (P<0.05), which was blocked by SB 203580 (a p38 MAPK inhibitor) but not by PD 98059 (a p44/42 MAPK inhibitor). In addition, high glucose-induced stimulation of IGFs was blocked by bisindolylmaleimide I and staurosporine (protein kinase C inhibitors). High glucose also increased IGFBP-l expression, which was blocked by bisindolylmaleimide I and SB 203580. In conclusion, high glucose alters IGFs secretion and IGFBP expression via PKC and p38 MAPK pathways in podocytes.