Effects of growth hormone and IGF-I on renal function in rats with normal and reduced renal mass.

To characterize actions of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor ( (IGF-I) on renal function in rats with normal and reduced renal mass, we administered recombinant bovine growth hormone (bGH) or human IGF-I (hIGF-I) to normal rats or to rats that had undergone unilateral nephrectomy and two-thirds infarction of the contralateral kidney, and measured inulin and p-aminohippurate clearances over 10-17 days. Administration of either bGH (100-200 micrograms/day) or hIGF-I (200 micrograms/day) to rats with normal renal mass increased inulin and p-aminohippurate clearances compared with those measured in animals that received vehicle. Filtration fractions were not affected by either bGH or hIGF-I. Inulin clearance was decreased to approximately 17% of normal 1 day after reduction of renal mass in rats. Over the next 3 days insulin clearance increased significantly in rats with reduced renal mass that were administered vehicle. No further enhancement occurred during the next 7 days. Neither bGH nor hIGF-I affected inulin clearance in rats with reduced renal mass. We conclude that both GH and IGF-I enhance glomerular filtration rate when administered to rats with normal renal mass, but not when administered in the same quantities to rats in which renal functional mass is reduced. Glomerular filtration rate increases within 4 days of renal mass reduction independent of exogenous GH or IGF-I.