AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 271, Issue 3 696-R703, Copyright © 1996 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Effects of elevated circulating IGF-1 on the extracellular matrix in "high-growth" C57BL/6J mice

K. Reiser, P. Summers, J. F. Medrano, R. Rucker, J. Last and R. McDonald
Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis 95616, USA.

Collagen biosynthesis was analyzed in C57BL/6J mice homozygous for the high-growth locus. Plasma levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) were significantly elevated in high-growth mice at all ages studied (3 wk-6 mo); IGF-binding proteins were also elevated. Skin biopsies were obtained from mice aged 3, 6, and 9 wk under halothane anesthesia. Mice were killed at 6 mo of age. Collagen, expressed per weight of tissue, was significantly increased in all tissues from high-growth mice, as was collagen cross-linking, expressed as moles of cross-link per mole of collagen. Expression of types I and III collagen, lysyl oxidase, and lysyl hydroxylase was increased in all tissues analyzed. There was a preferential increase in type III expression relative to type I expression. Rate and extent of accumulation of collagen in granulation tissue were measured in polyvinyl alcohol sponges implanted subcutaneously; collagen accumulation was significantly greater in the high-growth mice. These results suggest that 1) elevated circulating IGF-1 may increase collagen deposition both in normal tissue as well as in granulation tissue by increasing collagen gene expression, 2) IGF-1 may increase collagen cross-linking by stimulating expression of lysyl oxidase, and 3) the preferential increase in dihydroxylated cross-links observed in high-growth mice may be due to the stimulation of lysyl hydroxylase expression by IGF-1. In summary, elevated levels of IGF-1 appear to affect collagen both quantitatively and qualitatively, primarily through their effects on gene expression of collagen and of those enzymes responsible for posttranslational modifications of collagen.