Cell necrosis, oxidative damage, and fibrogenesis are involved in cirrhosis development, a condition in which insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels are diminished.
IGF-I treatment has been shown to improve animal models of NASH and cirrhosis, suggesting potential clinical applications of IGF-I in these conditions.
Low serum IGF-1 levels are associated with increased histologic severity of NAFLD when rigorously controlled for age, BMI, the presence of diabetes, and after the exclusion of subjects with cirrhosis.
Systemic administration of recombinant IGF1 at low levels has been shown to improve hepatic function, nutritional status and testicular atrophy in rats with CCl4-induced cirrhosis.
To better understand the mechanisms behind the hepatoprotective effects of IGF-I, and to identify those genes whose expression is affected in cirrhosis and after IGF-1 treatment, we have performed differential display of mRNA analysis by means of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in livers from control and CCl4-cirrhotic rats treated or not with IGF-I.
We examined the impact of cirrhosis on hepatic mRNA and serum protein levels for the GH receptor (GHR)/binding protein (GHBP), IGF-I, IGF binding protein (IGFBP)-3 and the acid-labile subunit (ALS).