Effects of age, obesity and growth-hormone on adipogenic activity in human plasma

The potential was examined for insulin, growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) alone or in combinations to stimulate glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) activity, a sensitive marker of differentiation of adipose precursor cells in primary culture. Insulin, but not growth hormone or IGF-1, stimulated GPDH in the presence of fetal calf serum and cat serum. The content of growth hormone in adult rat heparinised plasma seemed, however, important for such stimulation, but was also dependent on feeding status of the plasma donor, and was abolished by hypophysectomy of the cell donor. GPDH activity was then analysed in heparinised plasma in the over-night fasting state in humans to examine a potential influence of age, obesity and pregnancy. In comparison with non-obese adults, GPDH-stimulatory activity was higher in plasma from infants and small children. A similar trend was seen in plasma from teenagers. This activity was probably partly dependent on growth hormone, because this increase of activity could be inhibited by excess of anti-human growth hormone antiserum. Obesity in adulthood or among teenagers was not associated with any difference in plasma activity to stimulate cellular differentiation, and plasma from women during late pregnancy had a low stimulating capacity. Simultaneous analyses of the potential of plasma to stimulate lipid accumulation in adipose precursor cells was proportional to the triglyceride concentration. Overall, the inhibitory effect of antihuman growth hormone antiserum on the differentiating capacity of human plasma was small or non-existing. It is therefore suggested that in human plasma, factors other than growth hormone might be important for the differentiation of adipocyte precursor cells.