Nutrition and somatomedin. XIX. Molecular regulation of insulin-like growth factor-1 in streptozotocin-diabetic rats.

Poor growth in diabetes involves low circulating levels of somatomedins/insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), largely reflecting decreased growth factor release by the liver. To define regulatory mechanisms, circulating IGF-1 was compared with levels of a high mol wt putative hepatic IGF-1 precursor and hepatic IGF-1 mRNA in a model of progressive severity of diabetes in rats. Streptozotocin administered at 36, 72, 144, and 288 mg/kg produced graded metabolic decompensation 2 days later, from minimal hyperglycemia with continued weight gain at 36 mg/kg, to marked hyperglycemia, ketonemia, and weight loss at 288 mg/kg (all P less than 0.001). Total serum IGF-1 measured by RIA was unchanged with the 36 and 72 mg/kg doses of streptozotocin (471 +/- 19 and 439 +/- 27 ng/ml, respectively, vs. 517 +/- 27 ng/ml in controls) despite serum glucose greater than 400 mg/dl. With streptozotocin 144 and 288 mg/kg, serum IGF-1 fell to 131 +/- 27 and 142 +/- 10 ng/ml, respectively (both P less than 0.005 vs. controls). Serum IGF-1 was correlated strongly with serum beta-hydroxybutyrate and body weight (r = -0.88 and 0.91, respectively, P less than 0.0001), and less strongly with serum glucose (r = -0.59, P less than 0.0002). Extractable hepatic content of a high mol wt form of immunoreactive IGF-1 (a putative precursor) was unchanged at the two lowest doses of streptozotocin (68 +/- 4 and 83 +/- 9 ngeq/g vs. 67 +/- 4 in controls), but decreased to 16 +/- 3 and 29 +/- 4 ng/g at the two highest doses (both P less than 0.001 vs. controls).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)