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Ivona Bari?evi?, Olgica Nedi?, Judith Anna Nikoli?, Jasminka Nedeljkovi?
The insulin-like growth factor system in the circulation of patients with viral infections
Keywords: adenovirus, cortisol, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus, insulin-like growth factor, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein, rotavirus
The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system was examined in the circulation of patients with viral infections (herpes simplex virus, HSV; cytomegalovirus, CMV; rotavirus, RV and adenovirus, AV). The serum concentrations of IGF-I, IGF-II and cortisol were measured by radioimmunoassay, while IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) were characterised by ligand-affinity blotting. Although both IGF-I and IGF-II concentrations were significantly lower in patients with viral infections (p < 0.05) than in healthy persons, the IGF-II/IGF-I ratio was increased (p < 0.05). No correlation between the concentration of IGF-I and IGF-II and the intensity of the antibody response to infection was observed. Ligand-affinity blotting demonstrated decreased amounts of IGFBP-3 (patients with HSV, CMV, AV and some patients with RV), increased IGFBP-2 (some patients with HSV and RV) and IGFBP-1 (patients with RV). Serum cortisol was significantly elevated (p < 0.05) in patients infected with HSV, CMV and RV. The alterations observed can be interpreted as induction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and suppression of the growth hormone (GH)/IGF axis under the influence of viral infection.
Clinical Chemical Laboratory Medicine, Walter de Gruyter
Print ISSN: 1434-6621
Volume: 42, 10/2004
Pages: 1127 - 1131