Dexamethasone administration attenuates the inhibitory effect of lipopolysaccharide on IGF-I and IGF-binding protein-3 in adult rats

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate whether glucocorticoid administration had a beneficial effect on serum concentrations of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and on IGF-binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) in rats injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Adult male rats were injected with LPS or saline and pretreated with dexamethasone or saline. Dexamethasone administration decreased growth hormone (GH) receptor and IGF-I mRNA levels in the liver of control rats. LPS decreased GH receptor and IGF-I gene expression in the liver of saline-treated rats but not in the liver of dexamethasone-pretreated rats. In the kidney, GH receptor mRNA levels were not modified by dexamethasone or LPS treatment. However, LPS decreased renal IGF-I gene expression and dexamethasone pretreatment prevented this decrease. Serum concentrations of IGF-I were decreased by LPS, and dexamethasone pretreatment attenuated this effect. The gene expression of IGFBP-3 in the liver and kidney and its circulating levels were decreased by LPS. In control rats dexamethasone increased circulating IGFBP-3 and its gene expression in the liver, and decreased the proteolysis of this protein. Dexamethasone pretreatment attenuated the LPS-induced decrease in IGFBP-3 gene expression in the liver and prevented the LPS-induced decrease in IGFBP-3 gene expression in the kidney. Moreover, dexamethasone pretreatment attenuated the LPS-induced decrease in serum concentrations of IGFBP-3 and decreased the LPS-induced IGFBP-3 proteolysis in serum. In conclusion, dexamethasone pretreatment partially attenuates the inhibitory effect of LPS on serum IGF-I by blocking the decrease of its gene expression in the kidney as well as by attenuating the decrease in serum concentrations of IGFBP-3.