Epidermal growth factor (EGF) fails to stimulate pancreatic growth and pancreatic polyamine metabolism in rats
Löser, C.; Fölsch, U.R.
Zeitschrift für Gastroenterologie 32(4): 216-220
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0044-2771 PMID: 8017096 Document Number: 423632
Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a potent mitogen exerting a variety of biologic effects. While the growth stimulatory effect of EGF is well investigated in the gut, there are conflicting results concerning the growth stimulatory effect of EGF in the pancreas and no data concerning its effect on pancreatic polyamine metabolism in vivo. In the present study male Wistar rats (180 g) were either treated with EGF (20 mu-g/kg b. wt. i.p. every 8 hours) alone, EGF plus the ornithine decarboxylase (CDC) inhibitor alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), DFMO alone or saline as controls and 9-10 rats per group were killed after 8 hours, 1, and 5 days. To prove the biologic activity of EGF ( gt 97% purity; HPLC) rats were i. p. injected with 150 mu-g EGF/kg b. wt. and five animals were killed after 2, 4, or 6 hours, respectively and CDC and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAM-DC) activities were calculated in the duodenum, ileum, and pancreas. In contrast to the gut neither acute high-dose nor long-term administration of EGF resulted in any stimulation of pancreatic growth or pancreatic polyamine metabolism of rats in vivo.