Some metabolic changes induced by primate growth hormone and purified ovine prolactin

Metabolic effects of human growth hormone in corticosteroid-treated children

“…Subjects have included children with hypopituitarism (22), gonadal dysgenesis (25,26), constitutional dwarfism (27,28), primordial dwarfism (22,29), malnutrition (30), and infants (31, 32) and adults with a wide variety of diseases (18)(19)(20)(21)33), including Cushing's syndrome (21). In virtually all reports, the effects of small doses of HGH have been similar to those effects observed during the initial metabolic balance studies in 1958-60 (18)(19)(20)(21), which demonstrated the effectiveness of HGH in man and showed that the response to acute administration of HGH is characterized by nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus retention and increased urinary calcium excretion.…”

The Effect of Testosterone, Adrenal Steroids and Prolactin on Erythropoiesis

“…The induction of erythropoietin production by the kidney, perhaps by the potentiation of enzyme systems which are responsible for the elaboration of this hormone, is somewhat substantiated by the fact that testosterone is renotropic (23) and that prolactin in creases renal plasma flow and glomerular filtration rate (24). How ever, polycythemic mice have no detectable erythropoietin and few, if any, late erythroid precursors, and injection of these hormones alone or in combination produced only a slight increase in the in corporation of radio-iron into their erythrocytes.…”

Effect of Prolactin on Amino Acid Catabolism in the Female Rat

“…The dosage used was therefore within the physiological range. The duration of the injections, 10 days, cor responded to the period of maximal secre tion of prolactin during lactation [6], Pro lactin has been shown, in vitro, to inhibit fat metabolism and to promote lipolysis in adipose tissue [7], albeit at unphysiological concentrations. It might have been ex pected, therefore, that treatment of virgin rats with prolactin would have led to the mobilization of depot fat, and a consequent reduction in food intake -as occurs in lactating rats fed a diet inadequate in protein [2], This did not occur.…”

“…Prolactin is there fore ideally suited to regulate a physiological adaptation that spares protein for milk syn thesis, as it is sensitive to the lactational demand. Prolactin has also been shown to produce several of the metabolic changes in duced by growth hormone [7], Prolactin and growth hormone both inhibit fat synthesis from glucose and increase lipolvsis in adi pose tissue in vitro, an effect that would lead to curtailment of gluconeogenesis. Prolactin also induces a fall in blood urea and in uri nary N in man similar to that resulting from treatment with growth hormone.…”