scholarly journals Estradiol Potentiates Ghrelin-Stimulated Pulsatile Growth Hormone Secretion in Postmenopausal Women

2006 ◽  
Vol 91 (9) ◽  
pp. 3559-3565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes D. Veldhuis ◽  
Daniel M. Keenan ◽  
Ali Iranmanesh ◽  
Kristi Mielke ◽  
John M. Miles ◽  
...  

Abstract Context: Ghrelin and an estrogen-rich milieu individually amplify pulsatile GH secretion by increasing the amount of hormone released per burst. However, how these distinct agonists interact in controlling pulsatile GH output is not known. Objective: The objective of the study was to test the hypothesis that elevated estradiol (E2) concentrations potentiate hypothalamo-pituitary responses to a near-physiological ghrelin stimulus. Design: This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, prospectively randomized, parallel-cohort study. Setting: The study was conducted at an academic medical center. Subjects: Twenty-one postmenopausal women participated in the study. Interventions: Eleven subjects received placebo (Pl) and 10 others E2 transdermally in escalating doses over 3 wk to mimic late follicular-phase E2 concentrations. Saline or a submaximally stimulatory amount of ghrelin (0.3 μg/kg) was infused iv on separate randomly ordered mornings fasting after 17–21 d of Pl or E2 administration. Outcomes: Outcomes included serum concentrations of E2, ghrelin, GH, IGF-I, IGF binding protein (IGFBP)-1 and IGFBP-3, and the estimated mass and waveform of stimulated GH secretory bursts. Results: Administration of E2 yielded late follicular-phase E2 concentrations. Compared with Pl, E2 did not alter ghrelin concentrations but reduced IGF-I and IGFBP-3 and elevated IGFBP-1 concentrations. Compared with saline, ghrelin infusion amplified pulsatile GH secretion by 7.1-fold (P < 0.01). The effect of E2 alone was 2.0-fold placebo and that of combined ghrelin/E2 10.4-fold (P < 0.01). Ghrelin and E2 accelerated initial GH release individually but nonadditively by more than 2-fold (P < 0.01). Conclusions: Estrogen augments ghrelin’s near-physiological stimulation of pulsatile GH secretion and mimics ghrelin’s acceleration of initial GH release. Thus, we hypothesize that estrogen and a GH secretagogue act via independent as well as convergent mechanisms.

2008 ◽  
Vol 93 (11) ◽  
pp. 4471-4478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes D. Veldhuis ◽  
Daniel M. Keenan ◽  
Joy N. Bailey ◽  
Adenborduin Adeniji ◽  
John M. Miles ◽  
...  

Background: Why pulsatile GH secretion declines in estrogen-deficient postmenopausal individuals remains unknown. One possibility is that estrogen not only enhances stimulation by secretagogues but also attenuates negative feedback by systemic IGF-I. Site: The study took place at an academic medical center. Subjects: Subjects were healthy postmenopausal women (n = 25). Methods: The study included randomized assignment to estradiol (n = 13) or placebo (n = 12) administration for 16 d and randomly ordered administration of 0, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mg/m2 recombinant human IGF-I sc on separate days fasting. Analysis: Deconvolution analysis of pulsatile and basal GH secretion and approximate entropy (pattern-regularity) analysis were done to quantify feedback effects of IGF-I. Outcomes: Recombinant human IGF-I injections increased mean and peak serum IGF-I concentrations dose dependently (P < 0.001) and suppressed mean GH concentrations (P < 0.001), pulsatile GH secretion (P = 0.001), and approximate entropy (P < 0.001). Decreased GH secretion was due to reduced secretory-burst mass (P = 0.005) and frequency (P < 0.001) but not basal GH release (P = 0.52). Estradiol supplementation lowered endogenous, but did not alter infused, IGF-I concentrations while elevating mean GH concentrations (P = 0.012) and stimulating pulsatile (P = 0.008) and basal (P < 0.001) GH secretion. Estrogen attenuated IGF-I’s inhibition of pulsatile GH secretion (P = 0.042) but was unable to restore physiological GH pulse frequency or normalize approximate entropy. Conclusion: Short-term estrogen replacement in postmenopausal women selectively mutes IGF-I-mediated feedback on pulsatile GH secretion. Disinhibition of negative feedback thus confers a novel mechanism by which estrogen may obviate hyposomatotropism.


2008 ◽  
Vol 93 (9) ◽  
pp. 3597-3603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes D. Veldhuis ◽  
George Ann Reynolds ◽  
Ali Iranmanesh ◽  
Cyril Y. Bowers

Background: Ghrelin is a 28-amino acid acylated peptide that potentiates GHRH stimulation and opposes somatostatin inhibition acutely. Whether prolonged ghrelin administration can sustain physiological patterns of GH secretion remains unknown. Hypothesis: Continuous delivery of ghrelin will amplify physiological patterns of GH secretion over 24 h. Subjects: Men and women ages 29–69 yr, body mass indices 23–52 kg/m2, were included in the study. Location: The study was performed at an academic medical center. Methods: Twenty-four hour continuous sc infusion of saline vs. ghrelin (1 μg/kg·h) with frequent sampling was examined. Deconvolution and entropy analyses were performed. Outcomes: IGF-I concentrations were determined. Basal, pulsatile, nycthemeral, and entropic measures of GH secretion were calculated. Results: Ghrelin infusion compared with saline infusion for 24 h elevated (median) acylated ghrelin, GH, and IGF-I concentrations by 8.1-fold (P < 0.001),11-fold (P < 0.001), and 1.4-fold (P = 0.002). GH secretory-burst mass and frequency increased by 6.6-fold (P = 0.004) and 1.7-fold (P < 0.001), respectively, resulting in a 12-fold increase in pulsatile GH secretion (P < 0.001). Interpulse variability decreased significantly (P = 0.046), whereas GH secretory-burst shape and half-life did not change. The amplitude of the nycthemeral GH rhythm increased by 3.4-fold (P < 0.001), and GH patterns became more irregular (higher approximate entropy P < 0.001). Combining GHRH with ghrelin was not an additive in driving GH secretion. Conclusions: Continuous ghrelin infusion for 24 h elevates acylated ghrelin, GH and IGF-I concentrations, and stimulates pulsatile, nycthemeral, and entropic modes of GH secretion. The consistency of outcomes in a heterogeneous cohort of adults suggests potentially broad utility of this physiological secretagogue in hyposomatotropic states.


2007 ◽  
Vol 293 (3) ◽  
pp. E769-E775 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranganath Muniyappa ◽  
John D. Sorkin ◽  
Johannes D. Veldhuis ◽  
S. Mitchell Harman ◽  
Thomas Münzer ◽  
...  

Circulating testosterone (T) and GH/IGF-I are diminished in healthy aging men. Short-term administration of high doses of T augments GH secretion in older men. However, effects of long-term, low-dose T supplementation on GH secretion are unknown. Our objective was to evaluate effects of long-term, low-dose T administration on nocturnal GH secretory dynamics and AM concentrations of IGF-I and IGFBP-3 in healthy older men (65–88 yr, n = 34) with low-normal T and IGF-I. In a double-masked, placebo-controlled, randomized study we assessed effects of low-dose T supplementation (100 mg im every 2 wk) for 26 wk on nocturnal GH secretory dynamics [8 PM to 8 AM, Q20 min sampling, analyzed by multiparameter deconvolution and approximate entropy (ApEn) algorithms]. The results were that T administration increased serum total T by 33% ( P = 0.004) and E2 by 31% ( P = 0.009) and decreased SHBG by 17% ( P = 0.002) vs. placebo. T supplementation increased nocturnal integrated GH concentrations by 60% ( P = 0.02) and pulsatile GH secretion by 79% ( P = 0.05), primarily due to a twofold increase in GH secretory burst mass ( P = 0.02) and a 1.9-fold increase in basal GH secretion rate ( P = 0.05) vs. placebo. There were no significant changes in GH burst frequency or orderliness of GH release (ApEn). IGF-I levels increased by 22% ( P = 0.02), with no significant change in IGFBP-3 levels after T vs. placebo. We conclude that low-dose T supplementation for 26 wk increases spontaneous nocturnal GH secretion and morning serum IGF-I concentrations in healthy older men.


1997 ◽  
pp. 631-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Villa ◽  
D Valle ◽  
L De Marinis ◽  
A Mancini ◽  
A Bianchi ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE: To verify if a chronic opioid blockade could affect the GH/IGF-I axis. DESIGN: We have investigated the effects of naltrexone (NTX) treatment on GH response to GHRH in normal women. METHODS: GHRH test (50 micrograms i.v.) performed in seven normal female volunteers (age 25-38 years, with a body mass index ranging from 19.8 to 23.1 kg/m2) before and after 4-weeks NTX treatment (50 mg p.o. daily). RESULTS: Basal GH, IGF-I, insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) plasma levels and the IGF-I/IGFBP-3 molar ratio remained unaffected by NTX. NTX significantly reduced the GH peak values (15.52 +/- 3.59 vs 4.78 +/- 0.49 micrograms/l; P < 0.01), and GH area under curve (918.93 +/- 253.96 vs 401.09 +/- 79.63 micrograms/l; P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This finding suggests that the long-term opioid receptor blockade has an inhibitory role on GHRH-induced GH secretion. A central influence on neurotransmitter control of GH might be hypothesised. The inhibition of stimulated GH release, without interference with the basal level, could indicate an enhanced somatostatin secretion and/or activity. Opioids could be involved only in the regulation of GH dynamics and not in basal secretion. Nevertheless, a direct involvement of opioids at the pituitary level, which could be modified by NTX, cannot be excluded.


1989 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Franchimont ◽  
Didier Urbain-Choffray ◽  
Pierre Lambelin ◽  
Marie-Anne Fontaine ◽  
Gerard Frangin ◽  
...  

Abstract. This study sought to determine whether GH response to synthetic GHRH was impaired in 13 postmenopausal (55-71 years) as compared with that in 8 eugonadal women and whether IGF-I and bone metabolism were consequently depressed. Thereafter, the effects of daily iv injections of 80 μg GHRH-44 for 8 days were studied in the same postmenopausal group. In addition to significantly higher basal IGF-I and osteocalcin levels (P< 0.005) in eugonadal as compared with the postmenopausal women, the administration of one GHRH-44 injection resulted in significantly higher 120-min postinjection GH maximum peak and cumulative responses in the former group as well (P< 0.005). Highly significant correlations were observed between 17β-estradiol plasma levels and either GH maximum peak or cumulative responses to GHRH-44 when both groups were pooled together, but not when considered independently. In postmenopausal women, a correlation was found between both age and duration of menopause and GH responses. Repeated GHRH-44 injections in postmenopausal women induced a significant increase in GH response (P< 0.001) as well as in IGF-I levels from day 4 to 8. No phospho-calcium parameters were modified except for a significant rise in osteocalcin from day 2 to 8. These data indicate an age-related loss of sensitivity of somatotrope cells to GHRH-44 in postmenopausal women, partly corrected by repeated daily GHRH-44 injections. As a consequence of the GHRH-induced increase in GH secretion, IGF-I was also enhanced and may be responsible for a stimulatory effect on bone formation, as shown by the osteocalcin increase, uncoupled from bone resorption.


2002 ◽  
Vol 283 (5) ◽  
pp. E1008-E1015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig A. Jaffe ◽  
D. Kim Turgeon ◽  
Kenneth Lown ◽  
Roberta Demott-Friberg ◽  
Paul B. Watkins

The importance of gender-specific growth hormone (GH) secretion pattern in the regulation of growth and metabolism has been demonstrated clearly in rodents. We recently showed that GH secretion in humans is also sexually dimorphic. Whether GH secretion pattern regulates the metabolic effects of GH in humans is largely unknown. To address this question, we administered the same daily intravenous dose of GH (0.5 mg · m−2 · day−1) for 8 days in different patterns to nine GH-deficient adults. Each subject was studied on four occasions: protocol 1 (no treatment), protocol 2 (80% daily dose at 0100 and 10% daily dose at 0900 and 1700), protocol 3 (8 equal boluses every 3 h), and protocol 4 (continuous GH infusion). The effects of GH pattern on serum IGF-I, IGF-binding protein (IGFBP)-3, osteocalcin, and urine deoxypyridinoline were measured. Hepatic CYP1A2 and CYP3A4 activities were assessed by the caffeine and erythromycin breath tests, respectively. Protocols 3 and 4 were the most effective in increasing serum IGF-I and IGFBP-3, whereas protocols administering pulsatile GH had the greatest effects on markers of bone formation and resorption. All GH treatments decreased CYP1A2 activity, and the effect was greatest for pulsatile GH. Pulsatile GH decreased, whereas continuous GH infusion increased, CYP3A4 activity. These data demonstrate that GH pulse pattern is an independent parameter of GH action in humans. Gender differences in drug metabolism and, potentially, gender differences in growth rate may be explained by sex-specific GH secretion patterns.


1995 ◽  
Vol 144 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Magnan ◽  
L Mazzocchi ◽  
M Cataldi ◽  
V Guillaume ◽  
A Dutour ◽  
...  

Abstract The physiological role of endogenous circulating GHreleasing hormone (GHRH) and somatostatin (SRIH) on spontaneous pulsatile and neostigmine-induced secretion of GH was investigated in adult rams actively immunized against each neuropeptide. All animals developed antibodies at concentrations sufficient for immunoneutralization of GHRH and SRIH levels in hypophysial portal blood. In the anti GHRH group, plasma GH levels were very low; the amplitude of GH pulses was strikingly reduced, although their number was unchanged. No stimulation of GH release was observed after neostigmine administration. The reduction of GH secretion was associated with a decreased body weight and a significant reduction in plasma IGF-I concentration. In the antiSRIH group, no changes in basal and pulsatile GH secretion or the GH response to neostigmine were observed as compared to controls. Body weight was not significantly altered and plasma IGF-I levels were reduced in these animals. These results suggest that in sheep, circulating SRIH (in the systemic and hypophysial portal vasculature) does not play a significant role in pulsatile and neostigmine-induced secretion of GH. The mechanisms of its influence on body weight and production of IGF-I remain to be determined. Journal of Endocrinology (1995) 144, 83–90


1995 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Farmer ◽  
H. Lapierre

Pituitaries from female Yorkshire pig fetuses (90 d, n = 26; 110 d, n = 17) and 6-mo-old pigs (n = 5) were enzymatically dispersed, plated, and cultured for 47 h. The cells were then rinsed and incubated for 22 h with testing media containing 0, 50, 100, 200, 300 or 400 ng mL−1 of IGF-I. Half of the wells from each concentration of IGF-I were then incubated for an additional 3 h with concentrations of IGF-I similar to those in the previous incubation, while the other half also had GRF added to the testing media to reach a final concentration of 10−8 M. Culture media were then collected from all the wells, were frozen, and later assayed for GH. Irrespective of whether GRF was present, IGF-I decreased pituitary secretion of GH (P < 0.001). A significant negative response to IGF-I was already present at the dose of 50 ng mL−1 (P < 0.0001). However, the extent of the GH response to IGF-I seen in pigs of various ages differed depending on whether GRF was present. The present results therefore establish that IGF-I does exert a negative feedback on pituitary GH secretion in swine and that the age-related changes in this feedback are dependent on the presence of GRF. In swine, it appears that high circulating concentrations of GH in late-gestation fetuses are not a result of a lesser sensitivity of the somatotroph to the inhibitory actions of IGF-I. Key words: Pig, cell culture, pituitary, IGF-I, growth hormone, age


2011 ◽  
Vol 301 (4) ◽  
pp. R1143-R1152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes D. Veldhuis ◽  
Cyril Y. Bowers

Although stimulatory (feedforward) and inhibitory (feedback) dynamics jointly control neurohormone secretion, the factors that supervise feedback restraint are poorly understood. To parse the regulation of growth hormone (GH) escape from negative feedback, 25 healthy men and women were studied eight times each during an experimental GH feedback clamp. The clamp comprised combined bolus infusion of GH or saline and continuous stimulation by saline GH-releasing hormone (GHRH), GHRP-2, or both peptides after randomly ordered supplementation with placebo (both sexes) vs. E2 (estrogen; women) and T (testosterone; men). Endpoints were GH pulsatility and entropy (a model-free measure of feedback quenching). Gender determined recovery of pulsatile GH secretion from negative feedback in all four secretagog regimens (0.003 ≤ P ≤ 0.017 for women>men). Peptidyl secretagog controlled the mass, number, and duration of feedback-inhibited GH secretory bursts (each, P < 0.001). E2/T administration potentiated both pulsatile ( P = 0.006) and entropic ( P < 0.001) modes of GH recovery. IGF-I positively predicted the escape of GH secretory burst number and mode ( P = 0.022), whereas body mass index negatively forecast GH secretory burst number and mass ( P = 0.005). The composite of gender, body mass index, E2, IGF-I, and peptidyl secretagog strongly regulates the escape of pulsatile and entropic GH secretion from autonegative feedback. The ensemble factors identified in this preclinical investigation enlarge the dynamic model of GH control in humans.


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