Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Study of In Vivo Glucose Metabolism in High-fat Diet-fed Mice Using Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) and Insulin Tolerance Test (ITT)
Published on: January 7, 2018
Biological effects of growth hormone on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism
Archana Vijayakumar1, Ruslan Novosyadlyy, Yingjie Wu
1Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Diseases, The Samuel Bronfman Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Abstract:
This review will summarize the metabolic effects of growth hormone (GH) on the adipose tissue, liver, and skeletal muscle with focus on lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. The metabolic effects of GH predominantly involve the stimulation of lipolysis in the adipose tissue resulting in an increased flux of free fatty acids (FFAs) into the circulation. In the muscle and liver, GH stimulates triglyceride (TG) uptake, by enhancing lipoprotein lipase (LPL) expression, and its subsequent storage. The effects of GH on carbohydrate metabolism are more complicated and may be mediated indirectly via the antagonism of insulin action. Furthermore, GH has a net anabolic effect on protein metabolism although the molecular mechanisms of its actions are not completely understood. The major questions that still remain to be answered are (i) What are the molecular mechanisms by which GH regulates substrate metabolism? (ii) Does GH affect substrate metabolism directly or indirectly via IGF-1 or antagonism of insulin action?
Related Concept Videos
Overview of Carbohydrate Metabolism
Glucose transport into cells is facilitated by a family of transport proteins called GLUT (Glucose Transporters). GLUT4 is the primary glucose transporter for insulin-stimulated glucose...
Hormones Regulating Blood Glucose
In addition to accelerating glucose uptake and utilization, insulin has...
Glucose Homeostasis: Regulation of Blood Glucose
During fasting, when blood glucose levels are low, the pancreas secretes glucagon. it...
Regulation of Metabolism
Major Hormones and Their Functions
Oxytocin, produced in the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland, plays a role in social bonding, childbirth, and lactation.
Hypoglycemia and Glucagon
