Growth Hormone, the Insulin-Like Growth Factor System, and the Kidney*

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Abstract
I. Introduction GROWTH hormone and the insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) compile a complex, interrelated system of three peptide hormones, GH, IGF-I, and IGF-II, their specific receptors, and a series of binding proteins. The authors intend to review all aspects of GH, IGFs, and their binding proteins that relate to the normal anatomy and physiology of the kidney and their relationship to pathophysiology and pathobiology of the kidney and to selected kidney diseases. This manuscript will update and expand on previous review articles that were published by different authors (1–4). The reader's attention may also be drawn to an outstanding recent review by Jones and Clemmons (5) on the general biology of IGF-I and its binding proteins. In this introduction a basic review of GH, IGFs, their receptors, and binding proteins will be provided as a basis for the subsequent discussion on their association with the kidney. GH is the strongest secretagogue for IGF-I, and some (but not all) effects of GH on peripheral tissues are physiologically mediated by IGF-I.

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