title: [From research of non-suppressible serum insulin activity to the clinical application of recombinant insulin-like growth factor (rhIGF-I)].
abstract: The meandering and sometimes painful journey from the discovery of non-suppressible insulin-like activity in serum to the chemical, biological and physiological characterization and biotechnological production of the two peptide hormones which are responsible for this plasma activity, i.e. IGF-I and IGF-II, is described. IGF-I is the major mediator of most activities of pituitary growth hormone and is therapeutically used for the stimulation of growth in growth hormone-insensitive (Laron) dwarfs and for the treatment of type A insulin-resistant diabetics with non-functional insulin receptors. IGF-I and -II are not only endocrine hormones but also important locally produced peptides that act on cell differentiation during embryogenesis and on the regeneration of tissues during adult life via the autocrine/paracrine pathway. IGF research, chiefly in Zürich, serves as a basis on which to discuss more general aspects of the training of medical doctors and research structures in Switzerland.
authors.affiliation: Abteilung Endokrinologie und Stoffwechsel, Universitätsspital Zürich.
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Froesch
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D004392:Dwarfism / Q000188:drug therapy; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007335:Insulin-Like Growth Factor II / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012106:Research / Q000639:trends; D013557:Switzerland
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D007335:Insulin-Like Growth Factor II; D013006:Growth Hormone
vernacular_title: Von der Erforschung der nicht hemmbaren Insulinaktivität im Serum zur klinischen Anwendung von rekombinantem insulinähnlichem Wachstumsfaktor (rhIGF-I).