The trophic action of human growth hormone on human duodenal mucosa cultured in vitro.

The influence of human growth hormone (hGH) on crypt cell proliferation in cultured explants of human duodenal mucosa has been studied, using a stathmokinetic technique with crypt microdissection. The addition of hGH (0.004 IU/ml) to paired duodenal explants from eight patients significantly increased epithelial crypt cell proliferation (p < 0.001), showing that hGH has a trophic action on the human duodenal mucosa in vitro.