It has been reported that: I ) ovine growth hormone stimulates intestinal water, sodium, and chloride absorption and 2) specific growth hormone receptors are present in the rat intestine. Aims of this work were to investigate the effects of acute administration of hGH on water and ion transport in the rat ileum in vivo and in vitro. In vivo, the absorption rates of water, sodium, chloride, and potassium were determined in the rat perfused ileum, during a basal period and after i.v. administration of 6 Mg/kg recombinant DNA-derived hGH. In vitro , electrical parameters were measured before and after the hormone addition to the mucosal or the serosal side of rat ileal mucosa mounted in Ussing chambers. In vivo, growth hormone induced a rapid increase in the absorption rates of water, sodium, chloride, and potassium. In vitro, the serosal, but not the mucosal, addition of growth hormone induced a rapid decrease of transepithelial potential difference and of short-circuit current. The effect was time-and dose-dependent, saturable, but not reversible in the short time. The electrical'effect was abolished in the absence of The ability of GH to induce fluid retenti on is well established , but the mechanisms of this effect are not well und erstood (1). Most studies have focused on the interr elationships between various hormones taking part to the complex network that regulates Na + balance and on the renal effects of GH (1).It is now known that the intestine plays an important role in the regulation of body fluid home ostasis (2). GH has several effects at the intestinal level. In fact, it stimulates intestinal growth and differentiation (3, 4), vitamin D-dep endent Ca 2 + binding protein synthesis (5), and Ca 2 + absorption (6). Furthermore, GH increases the gastrin and somatostatin contents of rat stom ach ,(7). Finally, it has been previousl y shown that high doses of ovine GH, given to rats for 2 d in vivo, incre ased the absorption rates of H 2 0 and electrolytes as measured by intestinal everted sacs (8). chloride, indicating that it was related, at least in part, to inhibition of basal active chloride secretion. Growth hormone also reduced the short-circuit current increase induced by the secretagogues Escher ichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin, theophylline, and calcium ionophore A23187. These results indicate that hGH has a rapid absorptive effect that is related, at least in part, to a direct intestinal antisecretory mechanism. It also reduces active intestinal secretion induced by various secretagogues. (Pediatr Res 37: 576-580, 1995) Abbreviations GH , growth hormone r·hGH, recombinant DNA-derived hGH Isc, short-circuit current PD, transepithelial potential difference G, tissue conductance ST, Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin tionally believed to be mediat ed by GH-dep endent production of mediators such as IGF-I (9, 10). Howe ver, it has been report ed that IGF-I does not cause fluid retention (11). Recently GH has been shown to inhibit the production of the atrial natriuretic peptid e (12) . I...