Human growth hormone (hGH) is a pleiotropic cytokine targeting a variety of tissues. Its protective effects on haematopoiesis during treatment with chemotherapeutic drugs were investigated. Sprague-Dawley rats were intraperitoneally administered with both carboplatin and 5-fluorouracil together with or without recombinant hGH (rhGH) at a dose of 1 IU/kg/day. Body weight, full blood count, bone marrow differential count and expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in bone marrow were measured weekly for 4 weeks in chemotherapy-treated (CT) or chemotherapy plus rhGH-treated (CT+GH) animals. During the first week, body weight, white blood cell count, haematopoietic count and reticulocyte count were decreased in the CT group as well as in the CT+GH group, but to a lesser extent in the latter group (CT vs. CT+GH group, p < 0.05). Further decreases were also prevented in the CT+GH group. Myeloid cells were extremely hypoplastic in the CT group, while in the CT+GH group, myeloid cells recovered from obviously hypoplastic to excessively hyperplastic in the first 2 weeks, and the myeloid karyocyte count increased significantly (CT+GH vs. CT group, p < 0.05). PCNA-positive cell count in the CT+GH group was also significantly higher than in the CT group (CT+GH vs. CT group, p < 0.05). Thus, rhGH showed a promising protective effect on body weight loss and haematopoietic recovery of chemotherapy-treated rats, which may be useful in clinic to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy.
2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.