Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Supplementation Promotes Brain Maturation in Preterm Pigs

Authors

Line I Christiansen
Bo Holmqvist
Xiaoyu Pan
Kristine Holgersen
Sandy E H Lindholm
Nicole L Henriksen
Douglas G Burrin
David Ley
Thomas Thymann
Per Torp Sangild
Stanislava Pankratova

Publication Date

4-1-2023

Journal

eNeuro

DOI

10.1523/ENEURO.0430-22.2023

PMID

36973010

PMCID

PMC10112548

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

4-13-2023

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Published Open-Access

yes

Keywords

Pregnancy, Female, Animals, Swine, Infant, Newborn, Humans, Insulin-Like Growth Factor I, Infant, Premature, Brain, Cerebellum, Dietary Supplements

Abstract

Very preterm infants show low levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which is associated with postnatal growth restriction and poor neurologic outcomes. It remains unknown whether supplemental IGF-1 may stimulate neurodevelopment in preterm neonates. Using cesarean-delivered preterm pigs as a model of preterm infants, we investigated the effects of supplemental IGF-1 on motor function and on regional and cellular brain development. Pigs were treated with 2.25 mg/kg/d recombinant human IGF-1/IGF binding protein-3 complex from birth until day 5 or 9 before the collection of brain samples for quantitative immunohistochemistry (IHC), RNA sequencing, and quantitative PCR analyses. Brain protein synthesis was measured using