Epidermal growth factor acts as a corticotropin-releasing factor in chronically catheterized fetal lambs.
Epidermal growth factor ( EGF) has been reported to stimulate adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH), growth hormone and prolactin secretion from pituitary tissue in vitro, and in large doses evokes ACTH secretion in adult sheep in vivo. In order to assess a possible role for EGF in the pituitary hyperfunction characteristic of the in utero fetus, we measured changes in plasma immunoreactive ACTH concentrations after acute administration of saline, purified mouse EGF or synthetic ovine corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) to chronically catheterized fetal sheep. Both CRF and EGF were associated with increases in plasma immunoreactive ACTH concentrations. Peak values 60 min after 10-micrograms injections of either EGF or CRF increased from baseline ACTH values of 61 +/- 11 pg/ml to 191 +/- 37 and 178 +/- 25 pg/ml, respectively. Dose-response studies indicate that at low doses (less than 20 micrograms) EGF is as potent a stimulus for ACTH release as CRF. EGF infusion was not associated with detectable changes in circulating CRF, catecholamines, arginine vasopressin levels, or plasma growth hormone concentrations. We speculate that EGF may be important in the regulation of pituitary function in the developing mammalian fetus.[1]References
- Epidermal growth factor acts as a corticotropin-releasing factor in chronically catheterized fetal lambs. Polk, D.H., Ervin, M.G., Padbury, J.F., Lam, R.W., Reviczky, A.L., Fisher, D.A. J. Clin. Invest. (1987) [Pubmed]
Annotations and hyperlinks in this abstract are from individual authors of WikiGenes or automatically generated by the WikiGenes Data Mining Engine. The abstract is from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.About WikiGenesOpen Access LicencePrivacy PolicyTerms of Useapsburg
