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The effect of refeeding and insulin treatment of undernourished and diabetic neonatal rats, respectively, on the regulation of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP) was investigated. The changes in body weight, insulinemia, glycemia, serum IGF-I, and growth hormone (GH) as well as the increase of the 30-kDa IGFBP in undernourished and diabetic neonatal rats previously shown elsewhere were reversed by refeeding and insulin treatment, respectively. Also, changes in liver mRNA expression of IGF-I and-II and IGFBP-1 and -2 were restored in refed undernourished and IGF-I and IGFBP-1 levels recovered in insulin-treated diabetic rats. However, serum GH was still below normal after rehabilitation in both situations. Thus the present results support the idea of a GH-independent IGF/ IGFBP regulation mediated by a balance of insulin and nutrients as has already been suggested in previous neonatal studies.

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