The beneficial effect of growth hormone treatment on islet mass in streptozotocin‐treated mice. Issue 5 (6th February 2015) - Scheinman, Eyal J.
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. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.