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Insulin-like growth factor I stimulates growth in hypophysectomized rats

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Abstract

Although growth hormone stimulates the growth of hypophysectomized rats, it has long been proposed1,2 that the effects are not direct but instead are mediated by the somatomedin peptides. Two of these are insulin-like growth factor I (IGF I) and insulin-like growth factor II (IGF II)3, so called because they are closely related to insulin in structure4,5. IGF I and IGF II have somatomedin activity in vitro6,7 but until now insufficient amounts of the peptides have been available to test their in vivo activity. We now report that pure IGF I stimulates the growth of hypophysectomized rats in a dose-dependent manner. This strongly supports the notion that the action of growth hormone is mediated by peptides of the somatomedin family.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Metabolic Unit, Department of Medicine, University Hospital, Zurich, CH-8091, Switzerland

    Eugen Schoenle, Jürgen Zapf & E. Rudolf Froesch

  2. Biochemical Institute, University of Zurich, Zurich, CH-8006, Switzerland

    René E. Humbel

Authors
  1. Eugen Schoenle
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  2. Jürgen Zapf
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  3. René E. Humbel
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  4. E. Rudolf Froesch
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Schoenle, E., Zapf, J., Humbel, R. et al. Insulin-like growth factor I stimulates growth in hypophysectomized rats. Nature 296, 252–253 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/296252a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/296252a0

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