IGF-1

Insulin Like Growth Factor 1 or IGF-1 could be technically understood as a polypeptide protein hormone that is structurally similar to insulin. It is a proven fact that this hormone proves quite important during childhood growth and has the anabolic effects in adults also. A single chain of IGF-1 contains seventy amino acids and has three intramolecular disulphide bridges. As for its weight, IGF-1 weighs 7649 daltons. Liver produces IGF-1. It is an endocrine hormone. Liver is also a target tissue in a paracrine/autocrine fashion.

All About IGF-1

It has been seen that the production of IGF-1 is stimulated by growth hormones and the production of IGF could get retarded due to under-nutrition, lack of growth hormone receptors, insensitivity of growth hormones or failure of the downstream signaling pathway post GH receptors including SHP2 and STAT5b. It has been found out that about 98% of the IGF contains either one of the 6 insulin like growth factor binding proteins.

The main function of IGF1 is to bind to specific IGF receptors that exist on many cell types in many tissues. These signals are transduced by intracellular events. Our IGF-1 is one of the most powerful activators of the AKT signaling pathway. This is what stimulates cell growth and multiplication and inhibits the programmed death of cells.

Most of the body cells are influenced by IGF. The most affected cells are of muscles, cartilage, bone, liver, nerves, lungs, kidney, and skin. And it is not that IGF-1 is all about insulin like effects, it also regulates cell growth and development noticeably in the nerve cells and cellular DNA synthesis.

IGF-1 In Human Body

IGF-1 levels are measured in the blood in 10-1000 mg/ml amounts. The thing is that this level doesn't vary greatly all through the day and that is why this level of IGF1 is used by doctors and physicians as a sort of test to check for deficiency or excess of growth hormone. When it comes to interpreting IGF-1 levels in human body, it gets very complicated due to variations in age, sex and pubertal stage. Doctors have to manage and monitor the levels of IGF-1 over time to treat several types of pituitary diseases, under-nutrition and problems related to growth.

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