Epidermal growth factor (EGF) fails to stimulate pancreatic growth and pancreatic polyamine metabolism in rats.
Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a potent mitogen exerting a variety of biologic effects. While the growth stimulatory effect of EGF is well investigated in the gut, there are conflicting results concerning the growth stimulatory effect of EGF in the pancreas and no data concerning its effect on pancreatic polyamine metabolism in vivo. In the present study male Wistar rats (180 g) were either treated with EGF (20 micrograms/kg b. wt. i.p. every 8 hours) alone, EGF plus the ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) inhibitor alpha-difluoromethyl-ornithine (DFMO), DFMO alone or saline as controls and 9-10 rats per group were killed after 8 hours, 1, and 5 days. To prove the biologic activity of EGF (> 97% purity; HPLC) rats were i.p. injected with 150 micrograms EGF/kg b. wt. and five animals were killed after 2, 4, or 6 hours, respectively and ODC and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAM-DC) activities were calculated in the duodenum, ileum, and pancreas. In contrast to the gut neither acute high-dose nor long-term administration of EGF resulted in any stimulation of pancreatic growth or pancreatic polyamine metabolism of rats in vivo.
I Medizinische Klinik, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Kiel.
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D012437:Adenosylmethionine Decarboxylase / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004386:Duodenum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D000518:Eflornithine / Q000494:pharmacology; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007082:Ileum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D065108:Ornithine Decarboxylase Inhibitors; D010179:Pancreas / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D011073:Polyamines / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
D065108:Ornithine Decarboxylase Inhibitors; D011073:Polyamines; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor; D012437:Adenosylmethionine Decarboxylase; D000518:Eflornithine