Abstract
Epidermal growth factor (EGF) administration to very young animals causes growth retardation as well as precocious tooth eruption and eyelid opening. We previously demonstrated that EGF's ability to retard growth in the rat is confined to the first 2 weeks of life and is more pronounced in the immediate postnatal period (days 1-3). To investigate a possible mechanism through which EGF might alter somatic growth, we measured circulating concentrations of immunoreactive somatomedin-C/insulin-like growth factor-I (Sm-C) 4 hours after a single injection of EGF. Rats (aged 1, 8, and 15 days) were given 500 ng/g bw EGF and the Sm-C concentration measured after high pressure liquid chromatography of acidified sera.
The results show that exogenous EGF acutely reduces circulating Sm-C levels at the ages where it also exerts its growth attenuating effect (days 1 and 8) but not at 15 days of age, when the rat is insensitive to the growth-retarding property of EGF. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that EGF, at this stage of development, promotes differentiation at the expense of growth by altering production or secretion of Sm-C.
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Chernausek, S., Hensgen, H. & Hoath, S. EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR ACUTELY REDUCES SOMATOMEDIN-C/1NSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR-I IN THE NEONATAL RAT. Pediatr Res 21 (Suppl 4), 245 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00470
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00470