Insulin-like growth factor-I gene therapy reverses morphologic changes and reduces hyperprolactinemia in experimental rat prolactinomas.

CONSOLE G.M.; HEREÑÚ C.; CAMIHORT G.A.; LUNA G.C.; BRACAMONTE M.I.; MOREL G.R.; GOYA G.R.

BIOMED CENTRAL LTD

Lugar: Inglaterra; Año: 2008 p. 7 - 7

p class="abstract">BACKGROUND: The implementation of gene therapy for the treatment of pituitary tumors emerges as a promising complement to surgery and may have distinct advantages over radiotherapy for this type of tumors. Up to now, suicide gene therapy has been the main experimental approach explored to treat experimental pituitary tumors. In the present study we assessed the effectiveness of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) gene therapy for the treatment of estrogen-induced prolactinomas in rats. RESULTS: Female Sprague Dawley rats were subcutaneously implanted with silastic capsules filled with 17-beta estradiol (E2) in order to induce pituitary prolactinomas. Blood samples were taken at regular intervals in order to measure serum prolactin (PRL). As expected, serum PRL increased progressively and 23 days after implanting the E2 capsules (Experimental day 0), circulating PRL had undergone a 3-4 fold increase. On Experimental day 0 part of the E2-implanted animals received a