Open AccessSummary of Doctoral Thesis
Author(s) -
Suikkari AnneMaria
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
acta obstetricia et gynecologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.401
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1600-0412
pISSN - 0001-6349
DOI - 10.3109/00016349009028693
Subject(s) - somatomedin , autocrine signalling , paracrine signalling , endocrine system , endocrinology , receptor , insulin , messenger rna , medicine , insulin like growth factor 2 , insulin like growth factor , biology , growth factor , hormone , biochemistry , gene
Insulin‐like growth factors (IGF‐I and IGF‐II), or somatomedins, are small polypeptides structurally related to insulin. IGFs exert insulin‐like, differ‐entiative and mitogenic actions on their target tissues (1). Several, if not all, human fetal and adult tissues produce IGFs, as evidenced by studies on the IGF content of tissue extracts and expression of IGF messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) (2,3). Many tissues and cell lines possess IGF receptors, through which IGFs exert their biological actions (4). Serum and tissue contents of IGF‐I, and to a lesser extent IGF‐II, are regulated by GH, nutritional status, age and other factors (5). Thus IGFs are thought to act both in endocrine and locally in an autocrine or paracrine manner.