The impact of insulin-like growth factor-1 on the pattern of cardiac elongation factor-2 variants in a model of overload

Because of its key role in proteosynthesis, the total content of elongation factor-2 (EF-2) and the distribution of six main EF-2 variants were investigated after Pseudomonas Exotoxin A catalyzed ³²P]ADP-ribosylation using 1D-PAGE and isoelectric focusing (IEF) in a rat model of hemodynamic overload with variable degrees of cardiac hypertrophy: Chronic NO-synthase inhibition by L-NAME (N-omega-nitro-L-arginine-methyl-esther; 0.75 mg/ml drinking water) induced arterial hypertension without hypertrophy but myocardial apoptosis; additional treatment with IGF-1 (osmotic micropumps) did not modify hypertension but reduced apoptosis allowing moderate hypertrophy of the left ventricles. Total EF-2 did not significantly increase in rats with hemodynamic overload with or without IGF-1 supplementation. A positive correlation was found between an acidic EF-2 variant and apoptosis (p = 0.01). Hypertrophy under additional IGF-1 was combined with a shift of the EF-2 variants to basic subtypes (p < 0.01). This finding may be indicative of the trophic potency of IGF-1.