title: Growth promoting effects of human placental lactogen during early organogenesis: a link to insulin-like growth factors.
abstract: Many maternally derived factors may be involved in the regulation of embryonic growth but the control mechanisms involved are poorly understood. Human placental lactogen (hPL) has been implicated in playing a role in the control of embryonic growth. Several investigators suggested that there may be a possible link between the effects of this hormone and insulin-like growth factors (IGFs). In order to determine the growth promoting potential of hPL and involvement of IGFs in the mechanism of action of the hormone, 9.5 d rat embryos were cultured in vitro for 48 h in depleted serum in the presence and absence of hPL with additional IGF antisera. The growth supporting capacity of the serum was reduced by removal of low molecular weight molecules by prolonged filtration of the serum using filters with a molecular weight exclusion of 30 kDa. Addition of hPL (3.2-25.6 ng/ml) to depleted serum significantly improved embryonic growth and development, suggesting that the developing embryo may utilise hPL. The presence of antisera against hPL, IGF-I and -II abolished the hPL-induced increase in the development in all parameters suggesting that there may be a possible link between the IGFs and the effects of hPL on rat embryonic development and this hormone may achieve its growth promoting effects via IGFs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of Selcuk, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Karabulut
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Layfield
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Pratten
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D018568:Crown-Rump Length; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007106:Immune Sera / Q000494:pharmacology; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000276:immunology; D007335:Insulin-Like Growth Factor II / Q000276:immunology; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D010928:Placental Lactogen / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D013002:Somatomedins / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D015017:Yolk Sac / Q000033:anatomy & histology
chemical_list: D007106:Immune Sera; D013002:Somatomedins; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D007335:Insulin-Like Growth Factor II; D010928:Placental Lactogen