• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.247-268
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• 1996

It has been known for a long time that gonadotropins and steroid hormones play a pivotal role in a series of reproductive biological phenomena including the maturation of ovarian follicles and oocytes, ovulation and implantation, maintenance of pregnancy and fetal growth & development, parturition and mammary development and lactation. Recent investigations, however, have elucidated that in addition to these classic hormones, multiple growth factors also are involved in these phenomena. Most growth factors in reproductive organs mediate the actions of gonadotropins and steroid hormones or synergize with them in an autocrine/paracrine manner. The insulin-like growth factor(IGF) system, which is one of the most actively investigated areas lately in the reproductive organs, has been found to have important roles in a wide gamut of reproductive phenomena. In the present communication, published literature pertaining to the intrauterine IGF system will be reviewed preceded by general information of the IGF system. The IGF family comprises of IGF-I & IGF-II ligands, two types of IGF receptors and six classes of IGF-binding proteins(IGFBPs) that are known to date. IGF-I and IGF-II peptides, which are structurally homologous to proinsulin, possess the insulin-like activity including the stimulatory effect of glucose and amino acid transport. Besides, IGFs as mitogens stimulate cell division, and also play a role in cellular differentiation and functions in a variety of cell lines. IGFs are expressed mainly in the liver and messenchymal cells, and act on almost all types of tissues in an autocrine/paracrine as well as endocrine mode. There are two types of IGF receptors. Type I IGF receptors, which are tyrosine kinase receptors having high-affinity for IGF-I and IGF-II, mediate almost all the IGF actions that are described above. Type II IGF receptors or IGF-II/mannose-6-phosphate receptors have two distinct binding sites; the IGF-II binding site exhibits a high affinity only for IGF-II. The principal role of the type II IGF receptor is to destroy IGF-II by targeting the ligand to the lysosome. IGFs in biological fluids are mostly bound to IGFBP. IGFBPs, in general, are IGF storage/carrier proteins or modulators of IGF actions; however, as for distinct roles for individual IGFBPs, only limited information is available. IGFBPs inhibit IGF actions under most in vitro situations, seemingly because affinities of IGFBPs for IGFs are greater than those of IGF receptors. How IGF is released from IGFBP to reach IGF receptors is not known; however, various IGFBP protease activities that are present in blood and interstitial fluids are believed to play an important role in the process of IGF release from the IGFBP. According to latest reports, there is evidence that under certain in vitro circumstances, IGFBP-1, -3, -5 have their own biological activities independent of the IGF. This may add another dimension of complexity of the already complicated IGF system. Messenger ribonucleic acids and proteins of the IGF family members are expressed in the uterine tissue and conceptus of the primates, rodents and farm animals to play important roles in growth and development of the uterus and fetus. Expression of the uterine IGF system is regulated by gonadal hormones and local regulatory substances with temporal and spatial specificities. Locally expressed IGFs and IGFBPs act on the uterine tissue in an autocrine/paracrine manner, or are secreted into the uterine lumen to participate in conceptus growth and development. Conceptus also expresses the IGF system beginning from the peri-implantation period. When an IGF family member is expressed in the conceptus, however, is determined by the presence or absence of maternally inherited mRNAs, genetic programming of the conceptus itself and an interaction with the maternal tissue. The site of IGF action also follows temporal (physiological status) and spatial specificities. These facts that expression of the IGF system is temporally and spatially regulated support indirectly a hypothesis that IGFs play a role in conceptus growth and development. Uterine and conceptus-derived IGFs stimulate cell division and differentiation, glucose and amino acid transport, general protein synthesis and the biosynthesis of mammotropic hormones including placental lactogen and prolactin, and also play a role in steroidogenesis. The suggested role for IGFs in conceptus growth and development has been proven by the result of IGF-I, IGF-II or IGF receptor gene disruption(targeting) of murine embryos by the homologous recombination technique. Mice carrying a null mutation for IGF-I and/or IGF-II or type I IGF receptor undergo delayed prenatal and postnatal growth and development with 30-60% normal weights at birth. Moreover, mice lacking the type I IGF receptor or IGF-I plus IGF-II die soon after birth. Intrauterine IGFBPs generally are believed to sequester IGF ligands within the uterus or to play a role of negative regulators of IGF actions by inhibiting IGF binding to cognate receptors. However, when it is taken into account that IGFBP-1 is expressed and secreted in primate uteri in amounts assessedly far exceeding those of local IGFs and that IGFBP-1 is one of the major secretory proteins of the primate decidua, the possibility that this IGFBP may have its own biological activity independent of IGF cannot be excluded. Evidently, elucidating the exact role of each IGFBP is an essential step into understanding the whole IGF system. As such, further research in this area is awaited with a lot of anticipation and attention.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.9-47
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• 1975

These experiments were caried out to study the effects of caponization and various hormone treatments upon meat production and improvement of meat quality of growing chicken. Sixtyseven days old 160 New Hampshire cockerels were treated and growth rate, carcass yield, change of weight of individual organs, meat composition and change of amino acid were measured and analysed. Otherwise change of testis and thyroid gland by hormone treatment were investigated histologically. The results obtained were as follows. 1. The effectst of caponization and hormone treatment upon meat production were; 1) Body weight of cockerels in D. E. S. group without caponization was increased. upon 96.86% than initial period and A. C. T. H. group was 104.22% but other groups and all carponization groups were lighter than those of control group. 2) Weekly body gain of D. E. S. group without caponization was best showing the significance (102.69 g) and the group with caponization were lower than those groups without caponization. 3) Carcass yield was best in Testo. group without caponization (831.2 g) and the group with caponization were lower than the group without caponization. 4) Carcass rate was highest in A. C. T. H. group with caponization and (67.22%) lowest in Testo. group without caponization (63.37%), but any significance was not recognized. 2. The effects of caponizatitn and hormone treatments upon the coposition of meat and amino acids were; 1) Any significance was not recognized between treated and untreated group about change of moisture, crude protein, crude ash and glycogen contents in meat. 2) Fat co tent in muscle in the all treated groups were higher than that of control group. 3) Extracts of group without caponization were higher than those of groups with caponization. 4) Lysin contents were highest in D. E. S. group with caponization (11. 12/ 16.0 g N) and generelly Testo. group was lower compared with D. E. S. group. 5) Histidine and Arginine contents were higher in the groups with caponization than without caponization. 6) Aspartic acid content were higher in D. E. S. group and A. C. T. H. group without depend on caponization. 7) Treonine content was higher in Testo. group without caponization and in the group with caponization and without hormone treatment compared with those of control group without caponization. 8) Serine content was decreased in the group with caponization and increased by D. E. S. and A. C. T. H treatment groups and glutamic acid was also decreased in Testo. group with out caponization. 9) Cystine content was decreased by Testo. treatment and was not appeared in Testo. group without caponization. 10) Valine content was lower in control group with caponization but significance was not recognized between other groups and control group without caponization. 11) Glycine, Alanine, Methionine. Isoleucine, Leucine, Thyrosine and Phenylalanine contents were not so difference between hormone treated groups and control group without caponization. 3. The effects of caponization and hormone treatment upon the change of organs were: 1) The weight of all organs were heaviest in D. E. S. group without caponization (18.5g) and lightest in A. C. T. H. group without caponization (155. 3g) but no significance was recognized between hormone treatment groups. 2) Heart weight was heaviest in D. E. S. group without caponization (7.46 g) and lightest in Testo. group without caponization (5.95 g). 3) Liver weight was heaviest in D. E. S. group without caponization(32.89g) and lightest in hormone untreated group with caponization(29.66g). Significance was not recognized. 4) Spleen weight was heaivest in Testo. group with caponization (3.22 g) and lightest in D. E. S. group without caponization(2.00g) in contrast with the other groups. High significance was recognized among the groups (P<0.01). 5) Cloacal thymus weight was lightest in D. E. S. group with or without caponization compared with control group without caponization. High significance was recognized among the groups. 6) Muscle fat content was not appeared in A. C. T. H. group with caponization, but it was highly increased in D. E. S. group with or without caponization. 7) Testis weight was lightest in D. E. S. group (0.38g) compared with control group (2.66g). Significance was recognized among the groups. 8) Large intestine, small intestine and cecum weight and length were heavier and longer in D. E. S. group without caponization and control group without caponization was lighter than those of hormone treated groups. 4. The effects of caponization and hormone treatment upon histological change of testis and thyroid gland: 1) The histological change of testis was significantly appeared in D. E. S. group that seminifirous tubles was slowly atrophied, the funtion of spernatogenesis was ceased, spermatocyte was changed as degeneration by pyknosis and karyorrhexis and interstitial cell was also atrophied, but in Testo. and A. C. T. H. group were similar as control group. 2) The histological change of thyroid gland in Testo. and A. C. T. H. groups without caponization were similar to that of control group without caponization, but in D. E. S. group without caponization, was changed squamously. Thyroid gland of the groups with caponization, epithelium of was atrophied and changed squamously as degeneration by pyknosis and karyorrhexis and the function of thyroid gland was slowly ceased in colloid and in hormone treated group with caponization.