title: Insulin-like growth factor-1 and growth hormone (GH) levels in canine cerebrospinal fluid are unaffected by GH or GH secretagogue (MK-0677) administration.
abstract: Elevation in circulating GH levels results in a dose-related increase in serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels in dogs. However, it is not known whether elevations in systemic IGF-1 and GH levels contribute to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of these hormones. Therefore, a study was designed in dogs to determine if elevated circulating GH levels was a result of a GH secretagogue (MK-0677) or if exogenous GH administration resulted in increased IGF-1 and GH levels in the CSF of dogs. A total of 12 normal, young adult male dogs were randomized to three treatment groups (4 dogs/group) based on body weight. There were 4 vehicle control dogs. A group of 4 dogs were dosed orally with MK-0677 (5 mg/kg/day) dissolved in deionized water. A third group of 4 dogs received subcutaneous injections of porcine GH (pGH) at a dose of 0.1 IU/kg/day. From all dogs, blood and CSF samples were collected prior to the initiation of treatment and on days 7 and 15 of treatment. All samples were assayed using a validated radioimmunoassay. Administration of MK-0677 or pGH resulted in a statistically significant (P < or = 0.05) increased body weight gain and increased serum IGF-1 and GH levels. In contrast, administration of MK-0677 resulted in no significant (P > 0.05) increase in CSF IGF-1 or GH levels on days 7 or 15 of the study. The CSF IGF-1 values ranged from 1.2 to 2.0 ng/ml with minimal variation among three separate samples taken during the course of the study from each dog. Similarly, the CSF GH levels were very low (< 0.98 ng/ml to 2.4 ng/ml) in all dogs irrespective of treatment group. This study has demonstrated that there is no correlation between the circulating levels of IGF-1 or GH and the levels of these hormones in the CSF of normal dogs. An approximately 100-fold difference between serum and CSF IGF-1 levels in vehicle control dogs suggest that there is a blood-brain barrier for the circulating IGF-1. Similarly, failure to see an elevation in CSF GH levels despite increases in serum GH levels shows that there is a blood-brain barrier for GH in normal dogs. These results suggest that the likely source of GH and IGF-1 in the CSF of dogs is from the CNS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Safety Assessment, Merck Research Laboratories (MRL), West Point. srinivasa_prahalada@merck.com
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Prahalada
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Block
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Handt
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: DeBurlet
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cahill
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hoe
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: van Zwieten
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000187:drug effects; D004285:Dogs; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D007211:Indoles / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D008297:Male; D013141:Spiro Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015430:Weight Gain
chemical_list: D007211:Indoles; D013141:Spiro Compounds; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D013006:Growth Hormone; C094817:ibutamoren mesylate