Abstract
The observations that growth hormone primes neutrophils and stimulates various activities of monocytes suggested that it plays a role in the regulation of leukocyte biology. The in vivo reduction of growth hormone levels may be responsible for to the functional impairment of leukocytes observed in growth hormone deficient children. Whether leukocyte function is impaired in growth hormone deficient adults is not known as yet. We therefore studied superoxide anion release from neutrophils and chemotaxis of monocytes in 15 patients with adult-onset growth hormone deficiency before and after a period of 6 months of replacement therapy with recombinant human growth hormone. Analyses were performed by comparing functions of the leukocytes from these patients with those from age and sex-matched healthy control subjects. Before growth hormone treatment, patients received appropriate replacement therapy with thyroid, adrenal and gonadal hormones. The dose of recombinant human growth hormone was 0.25–0.5 U/kg/week (0.013–0.026 mg/kg/day) throughout the whole period of replacement therapy. In growth hormone deficient subjects, formylpeptide-triggered release of superoxide anions from neutrophils was significantly suppressed by about 40% before treatment as compared to healthy control subjects. After 6 months of replacement therapy, neutrophil superoxide anion release was similar in patients and healthy individuals. Neither before nor after replacement therapy, however, was there a difference in monocyte migration between control and growth hormone deficient subjects. These data indicate that neutrophil function is somehow altered in growth hormone deficient patients, even when receiving appropriate therapy with thyroid, adrenal and gonadal hormones, but that neutrophil function can be restored to near normalcy by growth hormone replacement therapy. This would suggest that suppressed neutrophil respiratory burst is due to the deficiency in growth hormone.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bengtsson BA, Eden S. Lönn L, Kvist H, Stokland A, Lindstedt G, Bosaeus I, Tölli J, Sjöstrom L, Isaksson OGP (1993) Treatment of adults with growth hormone deficiency with recombinant human GH. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 67:309–317
Corpas E, Harman SM, Blackman MR (1993). Human growth hormone and human aging. Endocrine Rev 14:20–39
Gelato MC (1993) Growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor I and immune function. Trends Endocrinol Metab 4:106–110
Hooghe-Peters EL, Hooghe R (1995) Growth hormone, prolactin and IGF-I as lymphohemopoietic cytokines. Springer, New York
Jorgensen JOL, Müller J, Moller J, Wolthers T, Vah N, Juul A, Skakkeboek NE, Christiansen JS (1994) Adult growth hormone deficiency. Horm Res 42:235–241
Kelley KW (1989) The role of growth hormone in modulation of the immune response. Ann NY Acad Sci 594:95–103
Kelley KW, Arkins S, Li YM (1992) Growth hormone, prolactin, and insulin-like growth factors: new jobs for old players. Brain, Behav Immun 6:317–326
Manfredi R, Tumietto F, Azzaroli L (1994) Growth hormone (GH) and the immune system: impaired phagocytec function in children with idiopathic GH deficiency is corrected by treatment with biosynthetic GH. J Pediat Endocrinol 7:245–251
Peterson BH, Rapaport R, Henry DP, Huseman C, Moore WV (1990) Effect of treatment with biosynthetic human growth hormone (GH) on peripheral blood lymphocyte populations and function in growth hormone-deficient children. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 70:1756–1760
Pick E (1986) Microassays for superoxide and hydrogen peroxide production and nitroblue tetrazolium reduction using an enzyme immunoassay microplate reader. Methods Enzymol 132:407–421
Rovensky J, Vigas M, Lokaj, Cuncik P (1982) Effect of growth hormone on the metabolic activity of phagocytes of peripheral blood in pituitary dwarfs and acromegaly. Endocrinol Exp 16:128–134
Rovensky J, Ferencikova J, Vigas M, Lukac P (1985) Effect of growth hormone on the activity of some lysosomal enzymes in neutrophilic polymorphonuclear leukocytes of hypopituitary dwarfs. J Tiss React 7:153–159
Wiedermann CJ, Niedermühlbichler M, Beimpold H, Braunsteiner H (1991) In vitro activation of neutrophils of the aged by recombinant human growth hormone. J Infect Dis 164:1017–1020
Wiedermann CJ, Reinisch N, Kähler CM, Geisen F, Zilian U, Herold M, Braunsteiner H (1992) In vivo activation of circulating monocytes by exogenous growth hormone in man. Brain Behav Immun 6:387–393
Wiedermann CJ, Reinisch N, Bellmann R, Schratzbergor P, Kowald E, Kähler CM (1995) Different patterns of deactivation of chemotaxis and haptotaxis of human peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes by soluble and surface-bound attractants. J Leukocyte Biol 58:438–444
Wiedermann CJ, Reinisch N, Braunsteiner H (1993a) Stimulation of monocyte chemotaxis by human growth hormone and its deactivation by somatostatin. Blood 82:954–960
Wiedermann CJ, Reinisch N, Kahler C, Braunsteiner H (1993c) Regulation of myeloid phagocyte development and function by growth hormone: a review. J Pediatr Endocrinol 6:85–91
Wiedermann CJ, Sitte B, Zilian U, Reinisch N, Beimpold H, Finkenstedt G, Braunsteiner H (1993b) Inhibition of superoxide anion release from circulating neutrophils by L-arginine in man. Clin Invest 71:985–989
Wilkinson PC (1988) Micropore filter methods for leukocyte chemotaxis. Meth Enzymol 162:40–50
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Reinisch, N., Schratzberger, P., Finkenstedt, G. et al. Superoxide anion release from neutrophils in growth hormone deficient adults before and after replacement therapy with recombinant human growth hormone. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch Pharmacol 354, 369–373 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00171070
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00171070