
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Bloomfield, Frank H. 
A1  - Zijl, Pierre L. van 
A1  - Bauer, Michael K. 
A1  - Harding, Jane E. 
T1  - A chronic low dose infusion of insulin-like growth factor I alters placental function but does not affect fetal growth
JF  - Reproduction, Fertility and Development
JO  - Reprod. Fertil. Dev.
Y1  - 2002
VL  - 14
IS  - 7
SP  - 393
EP  - 400
KW  - 
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1071/RD02022 
N2  - Knowledge of the anabolic effects of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) on fetal growth and feto&#8211;placental metabolism are derived from studies using large doses of IGF-I. Low doses of enteral IGF-I have trophic effects on the fetal gut, but there are no data on the effects of systemic low doses of IGF-I on fetal growth and feto&#8211;placental metabolism. We therefore compared the effects of a chronic infusion of low dose IGF-I (50 &#956;g day&#8211;1, n = 7) with vehicle-infused controls (n = 7) on fetal growth, metabolism and placental transfer capacity in the chronically instrumented late gestation ovine fetus (121&#8211;132 days of gestation; term = 145 days). Insulin-like growth factor I infusion did not affect fetal growth or the size of individual organs, including liver, spleen and bone. Placental morphology was altered, and placental clearances of 3-O-[methyl-3H]D-glucose (a non-metabolizable glucose analogue) and [methyl14C]aminoisobutyric acid (a non-metabolizable analogue of amino acids utilizing the system A transporter), were reduced in IGF-I-treated fetuses (P&#60;0.05 v. control). However, fetal and placental metabolite uptake was not significantly different between groups. We conclude that, despite altering placental transfer capacity and morphology, a chronic low dose infusion of IGF-I does not alter fetal growth or metabolism. 
ER  -

