Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Dexamethasone (Dex) induced growth retardation in children is partly mediated by direct growth plate effects. In contrast, IGF-I induces bone growth and may ameliorate these effects.Aims: To determine the direct effects of Dex and IGF-I on bone length, cell proliferation and mineralisation in cultured fetal mouse metatarsals.Methods: 18-day-old fetal metatarsals were cultured in triplicate in serum-free medium for 12 days supplemented with either Dex 10<sup...

Background: Glucocorticoid (GC) induced growth retardation is partly due to effects on the growth plate but may vary depending on the pattern of GC exposure.Aims: To compare the effects of dexamethasone (Dex) and prednisolone (Pred) and timing of GC exposure on chondrocyte proliferation and terminal differentiation on the ATDC5 murine chondrocyte cell line.Methods: The cell line was fully characterized by assessing marker gene expr...

Background: GCs retard growth prenatally in many mammals. Little is known of the prenatal effects of GCs in mice though this species is optimal for genetic and transgenic studies. IGFBP-2 is the predominant prenatal IGF binding protein and it may influence IGF action.Aim: To determine the weights, crown rump lengths (CRL) and serum IGF-I, Insulin and IGFBP-2 levels on 1 day old mice exposed to GC prenatally.Methods: Pregnant mice w...