Insulin-like growth factor-I (
IGF-I) is known to have
anabolic effects in freely fed rats. We have investigated the ability of infused
LR(3)IGF-I, an analogue of
IGF-I, to attenuate the loss of lean tissue due to food restriction in young (5 weeks) and adult (12 weeks) rats. Groups of rats received food at 100%, 78%, 56% or 33% of ad libitum levels. Within each nutrition group the rats were continuously infused with
LR(3)IGF-I at (98 nmol/day)/kg
body weight or vehicle for 7 days. At each level of food intake, rats infused with
LR(3)IGF-I maintained higher
body weight (around 3-8%;P< 0.001) and
nitrogen retention (P< 0.001) than those infused with vehicle alone but
muscle protein was not conserved.
LR(3)IGF-I infusion increased fat loss only in young rats (P< 0.05) despite a reduction in plasma
insulin levels in both age groups (P< 0.01).
Muscle protein turnover rates were unaffected by
LR(3)IGF-I in young rats. In adult rats
LR(3)IGF-I exacerbated the effects of food restriction through increased rates of
protein breakdown, reduced
RNA content and reduced rates of
protein synthesis (P< 0.05) despite their larger fat reserves. Although young and adult rats show differing metabolic responses, we conclude that infusion of
LR(3)IGF-I to either group during short-term food restriction does not ameliorate the loss of lean tissue by allowing more efficient utilization and/or partitioning of nutrients.