Direct infusion of a variant of insulin-like growth factor-I into the skin of sheep and effects on local blood flow, amino acid utilization and cell replication.

In vivo effects of local infusion of a variant of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), long-R3-IGF-I, into the skin were investigated using six conscious sheep with food available ad libitum. An artery and vein on the abdominal flank of each animal, as well as the saphenous artery, were catheterized so that infusion of isotopically labelled amino acids, with or without IGF-I, could be used to determine amino acid uptake by arteriovenous difference in combination with blood flow determined by dye dilution. Measurements were made on each animal prior to IGF-I infusion, at hourly intervals for the 4 h of IGF-I infusion into the skin artery, then 2 and 4 h after IGF-I infusion ceased. Numbers of cells replicating in the bulbs of wool follicles in the IGF-I-infused area and in the skin on the contralateral side of each animal were measured after labelling with 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine. IGF-I caused a significant increase in the skin blood flow (P < 0.05), utilization of oxygen (P < 0.05), uptake of cysteine (P < 0.05) and phenylalanine (P < 0.001), and the rate of utilization of cysteine (P < 0.05) for protein synthesis. IGF-I increased amino acid uptake regardless of whether the skin was in negative or positive amino acid balance prior to infusion. During the recovery period amino acid utilization by skin returned towards preinfusion levels. No effects of IGF-I were found on replicating cell numbers in the bulbs of wool follicles.