To define the mechanism(s) for the decrease of somatomedin concentrations in acute protein malnutrition, we have assessed the relationships between serum immunoreactive somatomedin-C/insulin-like growth factor-I (Sm-C/IGF-I), serum immunoreactive GH and total (MgCl2-treated homogenates) as well as free (water-treated homogenates) liver somatogenic (GH) binding sites in growing rats fed a 5% protein diet for 12 or 24 h and given an s.c. injection(s) of rat GH (rGH) or saline. Control rats were fed a 15% protein diet and injected with rGH or saline. After 12 and 24 h of protein restriction, body weight was 6.9 and 8.2% below controls respectively (P less than 0.001), while Sm-C/IGF-I concentrations were reduced by 58 and 66% respectively (P less than 0.001 vs controls). Serum GH concentrations were not affected by the low protein intake. Furthermore, injection(s) of 50-100 micrograms rGH failed to raise serum Sm-C/IGF-I concentrations in the protein-deficient animals. The number of total and free GH-binding sites was modestly (15-20%) decreased at 12 and 24 h in the protein-restricted rats. Serum Sm-C/IGF-I concentrations correlated weakly with free and total binding sites (r = 0.48 and 0.38 respectively). Affinity constants of GH-binding sites were not changed by protein restriction. The profound reduction in Sm-C/IGF-I concentrations within a few hours of beginning protein restriction, and the discordance between this reduction and the small decline in somatogenic binding sites, suggests that, in addition to GH receptor loss, a postreceptor defect may participate in the GH resistance occurring in the early stages of protein deficiency.
ABSTRACT. We have determined if dietary protein restriction for 1 wk has differential effects on growth, serum IGF-I, and liver growth hormone receptors at various stages of development. Female Wistar rats were fed a low (5%) protein diet for 7 d at 3, 4, 6, 8, and 12 wk of age, whereas controls were maintained on a normal (15%) protein diet. Body wt gain was impaired in the groups fed the low protein diet, despite normal energy intake, and the effect was attenuated with age. Liver cell number (DNA content) was reduced by low protein feeding in the 3-, 4-, and 6-wk age groups ( p < 0.01), but not in the older animals. Protein restriction caused a dramatic decrease in serum IGF-I in the younger animals (90 and 82% reduction versus normal fed age-matched controls, at 3 and 4 wk, respectively; p < 0.001), and this effect was progressively attenuated with increasing age (49,40, and 25% reductions of serum IGF-I at 6, 8, and 12 wk, respectively). Changes in serum IGF-I correlated with those of liver cell number (r = 0.80; p < 0.001). Total and free liver growth hormone receptors were slightly decreased in the low protein diet groups at 4 ( p c 0.05) and 6 wk (total: p < 0.001; free: p < 0.01) but not in the other age groups. The occurrence of profound diet induced reductions in IGF-I without proportional reductions in liver GH receptors suggest that the apparent GH resistance occurs at a postreceptor level. Because the degree of IGF-I reduction correlates with the severity of retardation of liver growth during dietary protein restriction at different ages, we conclude that the effect of protein restriction on liver growth could be mediated through IGF-I. (Pediatr Res 26: 415-419, 1989) Abbreviations rGH, rat growth hormone bGH, bovine growth hormone ANOVA, analysis of variance The GH-dependent peptide IGF-I is widely believed to be one of the principal stimulators of the cell proliferation that results in somatic growth (1). Regulated by food intake and nutritional
To determine the role of hypoinsulinemia and liver somatogenic (GH) receptors in growth retardation and decreased serum insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) levels during protein restriction, we have used a rat model where the effects of a low protein intake on body weight (BW), serum IGF-I concentration, and liver GH binding could be evaluated in the presence of low or high insulin concentrations. Two days after being made diabetic with streptozotocin (60 mg/kg BW), 6-week-old female rats (nine per group) were begun on a low (5%) or normal (15%) protein diet, without or with insulin supplementation (3 U lente daily). Nondiabetic rats fed both diets were used as controls (nine per group). In the nondiabetic animals, 7 days of protein restriction reduced BW gain by 50% (P less than 0.001), serum insulin by 44% (P less than 0.025), and serum IGF-I concentrations by 28% (P less than 0.001) without significantly changing liver GH binding. By day 9, BW was decreased in the diabetic animals by 12%, serum insulin by 80%, serum IGF-I by 55%, and liver GH binding by 62%; these effects were similar in the 5% and 15% protein-fed rats (P less than 0.001 vs. the corresponding controls). In the diabetes fed the normal diet, insulin treatment restored BW gain, serum IGF-I, and liver GH binding to normal values. In contrast, in the diabetics fed a protein-restricted diet and treated with insulin, BW gain and serum IGF-I concentrations remained low, similar to those in the malnourished controls. This diet-induced growth attenuation was observed despite high circulating insulin (2-3 times normal values), appropriate glucose control (63 +/- 9 mg/dl), and near restoration of liver GH binding. We conclude that while both protein restriction and diabetes attenuate growth and reduce IGF-I concentrations, the effects of protein restriction are independent of the effects of insulin and probably act by alteration of postreceptor mechanisms.
Caloric restriction depresses the development of several types of tumours, yet the mechanisms involved are poorly understood. In the present experiment we investigated the development of diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced liver tumours in mice treated with caffeine. The latter was found to reduce body growth, possibly due to increased energy expenditure, without reducing food consumption. Newborn mice received an i.p. injection of DEN. At weaning they were either fed lab chow ad libitum, with the same diet containing 0.2% (w/w) of caffeine, or their access to food was restricted to 70% of that consumed by the ad libitum group. Diet caloric restriction starting at weaning in male Swiss mice decreased the rate of development of glucose-6-phosphatase-deficient (G6Pd) preneoplastic foci. At the age of 24 weeks, 10% of the surface of a standardized liver section of ad libitum fed mice was G6Pase negative, compared to only 1% in the restricted mice due to a reduction of the number and size of these preneoplastic foci. The number and size of G6Pd foci decreased to the same extent with the ingestion of a lab chow supplemented with 0.2% of caffeine as with the diet restriction. This finding suggests that restriction slows down hepatic tumour growth by modifying body growth rather than by limited nutrient supply. In parallel, somatomedin-C (Sm-C) and insulin secretion following glucose challenge were decreased in diet restricted mice and those treated with 0.2% caffeine. The serum Sm-C and insulin levels were respectively 480 and 4.6 ng/ml in the restricted mice, 519 and 16.6 ng/ml in the caffeine-fed mice and 664 and 25.7 ng/ml in the ad libitum fed mice. Our results suggest that the decrease of secretion of these two hormones that are known mitogens for hepatocytes in vitro may be responsible at least in part for the reduction in the growth of liver tumours.
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