Circulating insulin-like growth factors-I and -II and substrates in fetal sheep following restriction of placental growth

Abstract

To determine the relationship between placental delivery of oxygen and glucose, circulating insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and fetal growth, the effect of variable restriction of placental growth was determined in sheep in late gestation. Arterial blood was obtained via indwelling catheters at 120 and 127 days of gestation, prior to necropsy at 130 days to measure fetal and placental weights. Plasma was acidified and subjected to size-exclusion high- performance liquid chromatography at pH 2.8 to dissociate and separate IGFs from their binding proteins. The acid-dissociated IGF fraction was analysed by sensitive and highly specific radioligand assays for IGF-I and IGF-II, previously defi..