Abstract
ABSTRACT: To delineate the role of growth hormone (GH) in the development and function of the immune system, immunological parameters including quantitative immunoglobulins, T and B lymphocytes, phytohemagglutinin lymphoproliferative response and delayed hypersensitivity skin tests were studied in nine GH-deficient children prior to GH therapy and at 2 months and 9 to 12 months following therapy. The phytohemagglutinin response (74.1 ± 37.6, mean ± SD), and the T rosette (58.3% ± 9.4), B rosette (21.1% ± 6.1), IgG (810 ± 241 mg/dl), (IgA 140 ± 85), and IgM (176 ± 70) levels in GH-deficient children were comparable to age adjusted values in normal children. Following GH therapy the phytohemagglutinin response increased significantly at 9 to 12 months posttherapy, 123.2 ± 51.9 versus 74.1 ± 37.6, p < 0.05. T and B rosettes, immunoglobulin concentrations, and hypersensitivity skin tests were not affected by GH therapy. Al-though an effect of GH was not demonstrable by these studies, a positive role of GH cannot be entirely excluded since total GH deficiency did not exist in all children.
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Abbassi, V., Bellanti, J. Humoral and Cell-Mediated Immunity in Growth Hormone-Deficient Children: Effect of Therapy with Human Growth Hormone. Pediatr Res 19, 299–301 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198503000-00009
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198503000-00009
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