The growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor 1 axis in heart failure

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Echocardiographic Assessment of the Right Heart in Mice
09:29

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P Delafontaine1, M Brink

  • 1Division of Cardiology, University Hospital, rue Micheli-du-Crest 24, 1211Geneva 14, Switzerland. Patrice.Delafontaine@hcuge.ch.

Annales D'Endocrinologie
|May 3, 2000
PubMed

Insights

Growth hormone and IGF-1 show promise for improving heart function in heart failure models. Further research is needed to confirm their therapeutic potential in patients with heart failure.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Endocrinology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) demonstrate positive effects on myocardial function in animal models of heart failure.
  • An abnormal GH-IGF-1 axis, characterized by relative GH resistance, is observed in heart failure.
  • Cardiac cachexia, a significant negative predictor in heart failure, is associated with elevated angiotensin II levels.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the potential beneficial effects of GH and IGF-1 on myocardial function in heart failure.
  • To explore the interaction between the renin-angiotensin system and the GH-IGF-1 axis in the context of heart failure and cachexia.

Main Methods:

  • Review of experimental data on GH and IGF-1 in animal models of heart failure.
  • Analysis of preliminary evidence regarding the GH-IGF-1 axis in heart failure patients.
  • Examination of the relationship between angiotensin II, cachexia, and IGF-1 in cardiac and skeletal muscle.

Main Results:

  • GH and IGF-1 exert beneficial effects including vasodilation, cardiac hypertrophy stimulation, enhanced myofilament calcium sensitivity, and apoptosis prevention.
  • Angiotensin II infusion in rats induces weight loss via catabolism and increased protein degradation.
  • Angiotensin II modulates IGF-1 levels, decreasing them in circulation and skeletal muscle while increasing them in cardiac muscle, along with IGF-1 receptor expression.

Conclusions:

  • Preliminary data suggest a potential therapeutic role for GH in managing heart failure.
  • Further clinical trials are essential to validate the efficacy of GH and/or IGF-1 as treatments for heart failure.

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