AJP - Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol 266, Issue 1 E102-E106, Copyright © 1994 by American Physiological Society
Insulin-like growth factor and growth hormone receptor in nephrotic rats
M. A. Thabet, A. Challa, W. Chan, F. Liu, R. L. Hintz and J. C. Chan
Department of Pediatrics, Children's Medical Center, Medical College of Virginia, Richmond.
In an attempt to elucidate the mechanism of growth retardation in the
nephrotic syndrome, specific serum and hepatic growth factors were measured
in Sprague-Dawley rats in which nephrotic syndrome was produced by
administration of puromycin (1.5 mg.100 g body wt-1.day-1) for 12 days. On
the 13th day, the results of these nephrotic animals were compared with
those of an equal number of pair-fed and control animals: the mean dietary
intake of the nephrotic group was 71% that of the control group (P <
0.001). Serum insulin-like growth factor (IGF) binding protein-3 was
significantly reduced (P < 0.005) in the nephrotic rats, compared with
the pair-fed and the control groups. Hepatic IGF-I mRNA in the nephrotic
rats averaged 36% that of control (P < 0.001) and 46% that of the
pair-fed animals (P < 0.001). Hepatic growth hormone receptor (GHr) mRNA
in the nephrotic rats averaged 19% of that of the control (P < 0.001)
and 27% of that of the pair-fed rats (P < 0.001). These results indicate
that the growth retardation of the nephrotic rats may be associated with
the significant decrease in IGF-I mRNA and reduction in GHr mRNA.
