Insulin and insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are anabolic effectors in many tissues and cultured cells, including astrocytes and neurons. Receptors for insulin and IGFs are found throughout the human brain. We examined the level of insulin and IGF receptors on membranes prepared from surgical specimens of tumor (astrocytomas and glioblastomas) and normal human brain. Specific binding (per 100 micrograms membrane protein) of insulin was less than 5% in all normal and tumor samples. Specific binding of IGF-I to 12 normal brain specimens ranged from 1-8%. IGF-I binding to 18 glioma specimens ranged from 2-25%. Scatchard analyses of IGF-I binding confirmed increased IGF-I-binding sites in some glial tumors vs. normal brain, but detected no difference in affinity characteristics. Cross-linking of [125I]IGF-I demonstrated that glioma tissue expressed the same lower mol wt (approximately 118 kDa) alpha-subunit as the normal brain confirming the neural origin of the cells expressing the IGF-I receptor. IGF-binding proteins (approximately 40 kDa) were also found in the membranes of some of the glioma but none of the normal brain specimens. In cell lines derived from glioma specimens, IGF binding was readily detectable (4-10% specific binding), but insulin binding was barely detectable (0-03%) in every line examined. The size of the IGF-I alpha-subunit in the cultured cells was larger (approximately 133 kDa) than that in the original tissue. Most glioma cell lines exhibited an IGF-I dose-dependent stimulation of thymidine incorporation into DNA, and partially purified IGF-I receptors from these cells exhibited a dose-dependent stimulation of the autophosphorylation of the beta-subunit. We conclude that human glioma cells have functional IGF-I receptors and suggest a role for this receptor in glioma cell growth.