Research Perspective|Volume 2, Issue 12|pp 1017—1022

Rejuvenating somatotropic signaling: a therapeutical opportunity for premature aging?

Alejandro P. Ugalde¹, Guillermo Mariño, Carlos López-Otín

¹Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Medicina, Instituto Universitario de Oncología, Universidad de Oviedo, 33006-Oviedo, Spain

* * Equal contribution

Received: December 22, 2010Accepted: December 22, 2010Published: December 26, 2010

Copyright: © 2010 Ugalde et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

We have recently reported that progeroid Zmpste24^−/− mice, which exhibit multiple defects that phenocopy Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, show a profound dysregulation of somatotropic axis, mainly characterized by the occurrence of very high circulating levels of growth hormone (GH) and a drastic reduction in insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). We have also shown that restoration of the proper GH/IGF-1 balance in Zmpste24^−/− mice by treatment with recombinant IGF-1 delays the onset of many progeroid features in these animals and significantly extends their lifespan. Here, we summarize these observations and discuss the importance of GH/IGF-1 balance in longevity as well as its modulation as a putative therapeutic strategy for the treatment of human progeroid syndromes.