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(Circulation. 1999;100:2003-2009.)
© 1999 American Heart Association, Inc.

Basic Science Reports

Effects of Growth Hormone Supplementation on Left Ventricular Morphology and Myocyte Function With the Development of Congestive Heart Failure

Ward V. Houck, MD; Lydia C. Pan, PhD; Scott B. Kribbs, BS; Mark J. Clair, MS; George M. McDaniel, MD; R. Stephen Krombach, MS; William M. Merritt, BS; Christine Pirie, MS; Julie P. Iannini, BS; Rupak Mukherjee, PhD; Francis G. Spinale, MD, PhD

From the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, and the Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease, Pfizer Central Research, Groton, Conn (L.C.P., C.P.).

Correspondence to Francis G. Spinale, MD, PhD, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Room 625, Strom Thurmond Research Building, Medical University of South Carolina, 114 Doughty St, Charleston, SC 29403.

Background—Release of growth hormone (GH), putatively through alterations in insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels, has been implicated to influence left ventricular (LV) myocardial structure and function. The objective of this study was to determine contributory mechanisms by which GH supplementation may influence LV function with the development of congestive heart failure (CHF).

Methods and Results—Pigs were assigned to the following groups: (1) chronic pacing at 240 bpm for 3 weeks (n=10), (2) chronic pacing and GH supplementation (200 µg · kg^-1 · d^-1, n=10), and (3) controls (n=8). GH treatment increased IGF-1 plasma levels by nearly 2.5-fold throughout the pacing protocol. In the untreated pacing CHF group, LV fractional shortening was reduced and peak wall stress increased. In the pacing CHF and GH groups, LV fractional shortening was higher and LV wall stress lower than untreated CHF values. Steady-state myocyte velocity of shortening was reduced with pacing CHF and was unchanged from CHF values with GH treatment. In the presence of 25 nmol/L isoproterenol, the change in myocyte shortening velocity was reduced in the untreated CHF group and increased in the GH-treated group. LV sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺-ATPase abundance was reduced with pacing CHF but was normalized with GH treatment.

Conclusions—Short-term GH supplementation improved LV pump function in pacing CHF as a result of favorable effects on LV remodeling and contractile processes. Thus, GH supplementation may serve as a novel therapeutic modality in developing CHF.

Key Words: ventricles • contractility • hormones • growth substances

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