title: Somatomedin production and response to mitogen by lymphocytes in children with growth hormone deficiency.
abstract: Studies on the lymphocyte proliferative activity of the sera from growth hormone (GH) deficient patients have resulted in contradictory observations. The ability of lymphocytes to synthesize somatomedin-C (Sm-C) and thus account for a normal proliferative activity (previously observed by us) of the GH-deficient sera was studied, by measuring Sm-C concentration in the culture medium using a standard radioimmunoassay for Sm-C. The response of lymphocytes to the mitogen phytohemagglutinin (PHA), as determined by the incorporation of 3H thymidine into DNA, was also studied. The Sm-C concentrations in the cultures reflected the Sm-C concentrations of the respective serum added and did not alter with significant increases in the cell number induced by PHA. The lymphocytes from GH-deficient children and normal children were indistinguishable in their ability to respond to PHA. We conclude that lymphocyte proliferation in short-term culture, was not associated with an increase in Sm-C and that in the lymphocyte proliferation assay the sera and the lymphocytes from GH-deficient children respond similarly to the sera and lymphocytes from normal children.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002455:Cell Division; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000172:deficiency*; D006801:Humans; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013002:Somatomedins / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D010835:Phytohemagglutinins; D013002:Somatomedins; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D013006:Growth Hormone