title: The beneficial effect of growth hormone treatment on islet mass in streptozotocin-treated mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, characterized by a loss of pancreatic β-cell mass and function, which results in dramatic reductions in insulin secretion and circulating insulin levels. Patients with type 1 diabetes are traditionally treated with insulin injections and insulin pumps ex vivo or undergo transplantation. Growth hormone (GH) has been shown to be involved in β-cell function and survival in culture.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve-week-old female C57BL/6 mice were treated with streptozotocin and monitored for their weight and blood glucose levels. Fourteen days post-initial injection, these mice were separated into two groups at random. One group was treated with GH while the other treated with vehicle for up to 3 weeks. These mice were compared with mice not treated with streptozotocin.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Under our experimental conditions, we observed that mice treated with GH had larger islets and higher serum insulin levels than streptozotocin-treated mice treated with saline (0.288 vs. 0.073 ng/mL, p < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data demonstrate that GH may rescue islets and therefore may possess therapeutic potential in the treatment of type 1 diabetes, although consideration should be made regarding GH's effect on insulin resistance.
authors.affiliation: The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Eyal J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Scheinman
authors.affiliation: The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Rawan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Damouni
authors.affiliation: Diabetes and Metabolism Clinical Research Center of Excellence, Clinical Research Institute at Rambam (CRIR), Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Avishay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caspi
authors.affiliation: Diabetes and Metabolism Clinical Research Center of Excellence, Clinical Research Institute at Rambam (CRIR), Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Zila
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shen-Orr
authors.affiliation: The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.|Pediatric Endocrinology Unit, Meyer Children's Hospital, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Dov
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tiosano
authors.affiliation: The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.|Diabetes and Metabolism Clinical Research Center of Excellence, Clinical Research Institute at Rambam (CRIR), Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: LeRoith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood*; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009929:Organ Size; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D019382:Human Growth Hormone
keywords: growth hormone; insulin; islet cells; streptozotocin; type 1 diabetes