Diverse roles of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 in mammalian aging: progress and controversies

Because the initial reports demonstrating that circulating growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 decrease with age in laboratory animals and humans, there have been numerous studies related to the importance of these hormones for healthy aging. Nevertheless, the role of these potent anabol...

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Published in:The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2012-06, Vol.67 (6), p.587-598
Main Authors: Sonntag, William E, Csiszar, Anna, deCabo, Raphael, Ferrucci, Luigi, Ungvari, Zoltan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Aging - metabolism
Animals
Cell Transformation, Neoplastic - drug effects
Cell Transformation, Neoplastic - metabolism
Female
Genotype & phenotype
Growth Hormone - genetics
Growth Hormone - metabolism
Growth Hormone - pharmacology
Growth hormones
Humans
Insulin - metabolism
Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins - metabolism
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I - genetics
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I - metabolism
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I - pharmacology
Insulin-like growth factors
Journal of Gerontology: BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Longevity - physiology
Male
Mice
Pathogenesis
Rats
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Summary:Because the initial reports demonstrating that circulating growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 decrease with age in laboratory animals and humans, there have been numerous studies related to the importance of these hormones for healthy aging. Nevertheless, the role of these potent anabolic hormones in the genesis of the aging phenotype remains controversial. In this chapter, we review the studies demonstrating the beneficial and deleterious effects of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 deficiency and explore their effects on specific tissues and pathology as well as their potentially unique effects early during development. Based on this review, we conclude that the perceived contradictory roles of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 in the genesis of the aging phenotype should not be interpreted as a controversy on whether growth hormone or insulin-like growth factor-1 increases or decreases life span but rather as an opportunity to explore the complex roles of these hormones during specific stages of the life span.
ISSN:1079-5006
1758-535X
DOI:10.1093/gerona/gls115