Insulinlike growth factors in patients with active nephrotic syndrome

E. H. Garin, M. B. Grant and J. H. Silverstein
Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston.

The serum concentrations of insulinlike growth factors 1 and 2 (IGF-1 and IGF-2) were measured by specific radioimmunoassays in 25 nephrotic patients. The serum concentration of IGF-1 in nephrotic patients (mean +/- SEM, 169 +/- 17 ng/mL) was significantly lower than that observed in 20 control subjects matched for sex and age (338 +/- 36 ng/mL). The IGF-2 serum concentration was significantly lower in nephrotic patients (343 +/- 22 ng/mL) than in control subjects (898 +/- 80 ng/mL). The IGF-1 and IGF-2 150-kd and 45-kd carrier protein complexes were found in the urine of nephrotic patients, whereas there was no binding of radiolabeled IGF-1 or IGF-2 to IGF carrier proteins in the urine of control subjects. The low serum IGF-1 and IGF-2 levels observed in nephrotic patients could be partially due to the increased urinary losses of the IGF carrier proteins.