AIM OF THE STUDY Several epidemiological studies have attempted to demonstrate a relationship between increased serum level of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and an augmented risk of developing colorectal cancers (CRC). The human IGF-1 gene is composed of 6 exons and demonstrated expression of 6 different splice variants (isoforms) of mRNA (IA, IB, IC, IIA, IIB and IIC). The aim of the st...

We studied the effects and interactions of ANG II and the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system in cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells. ANG II (1 μM) and IGF-I (10 nM) stimulated both DNA and protein synthesis. The effects of the two peptides in combination were additive or more than additive. The AT1 receptor antagonist losartan (10 and 100 μM) blocked their synergistic effect on DNA syn...

GH receptor (GHR) messenger RNA (mRNA) is transcribed from at least three different promoters within the liver of cattle. The first promoter (P1) is liver specific and alternatively splices exon 1A onto the GHR mRNA (GHR 1A mRNA). The second and third promoters (P2 and P3) have constitutive activity in many tissues and alternatively splice exons 1B and 1C onto the GHR mRNA (GHR 1B and GHR 1C mR...

Heterochromatin protein 1 binding protein 3 (HP1BP3) is a recently described histone H1-related protein with roles in chromatin structure and transcriptional regulation. To explore the potential physiological role of HP1BP3, we have previously described an Hp1bp3(-/-) mouse model with reduced postnatal viability and growth. We now find that these mice are proportionate dwarfs, with reduction in...

The influence of the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor-1 (GH/IGF-1) axis on the expression of low voltage-activated (LVA) calcium current in atrial tissue was investigated using spontaneous dwarf (SpDwf) rats, a mutant strain that lacks GH. Atrial myocytes from SpDwf rats express LVA and HVA calcium currents and the calcium channel alpha-1 subunit genes, CaV1.2, CaV2.3, CaV3.1, and CaV3...

Different Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) mRNA transcripts are produced by alternative splicing and particularly the IGF-IEc isoform has been implicated in the development and/or progression of various types of cancer. In the present study, we examined the potential role of IGF-IEc expression as a new immunohistochemical marker of aggressiveness in neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs). We utili...

The objectives of the present studies by severalfold on d 4. In cells from both sizes of were to determine the effect of insulin, insulin-like follicles, insulin (1 pg/mL), in the presence of FSH, growth factor I (IGF-I), testosterone, and FSH on increased estradiol production per cell. In contrast, proliferation, progesterone production, and(or) esIGF-I (100 ng/mL) inhibited estradiol producti...

" I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying " Woody Allen (1935-?) Papers included in the thesis This thesis is based on the following papers, which are referred to in the text by their Roman numerals: Blomqvist. Distribution of growth hormone receptor mRNA in the brain stem and spinal cord of the rat. Neuroscience, xx (2004) xxx. In press.creas...