Martín‐Rodríguez JF, Ramos‐Herrero VD, Parras GG, Flores‐Martínez Á, Madrazo‐Atutxa A, Cano DA, Gruart A, Delgado‐García JM, Leal‐Cerro A, Leal‐Campanario R. Chronic adult-onset of growth hormone/IGF-I hypersecretion improves cognitive functions and LTP and promotes neuronal differentiation in adult rats.
Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2020;
229:e13293. [PMID:
31059193 DOI:
10.1111/apha.13293]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2018] [Revised: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 04/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
AIM
Besides their metabolic and endocrine functions, the growth hormone (GH) and its mediated factor, the insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), have been implicated in different brain functions, including neurogenesis. Long-lasting elevated GH and IGF-I levels result in non-reversible somatic, endocrine and metabolic morbidities. However, the subcutaneous implantation of the GH-secreting (GH-S) GC cell line in rats leads to the controllable over-secretion of GH and elevated IGF-I levels, allowing the experimental study of their short-term effects on brain functions.
METHODS
Adult rats were implanted with GC cells and checked 10 weeks later, when a GH/IGF-I-secreting tumour was already formed.
RESULTS
Tumour-bearing rats acquired different operant conditioning tasks faster and better than controls and tumour-resected groups. They also presented better retentions of long-term memories in the passive avoidance test. Experimentally evoked long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus was also larger and longer lasting in the tumour bearing than in the other groups. Chronic adult-onset of GH/IGF-I hypersecretion caused an acceleration of early progenitors, facilitating a faster neural differentiation, maturation and integration in the dentate gyrus, and increased the complexity of dendritic arbours and spine density of granule neurons.
CONCLUSION
Thus, adult-onset hypersecretion of GH/IGF-I improves neurocognitive functions, long-term memories, experimental LTP and neural differentiation, migration and maturation.
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