Metabolic effects in children of a 37 amino acid fragment of bovine growth hormone

The metabolic effects of a 37 amino acid fragment (A-II) from a tryptic digest of bovine growth hormone (bGH) were determined in 4 hypopituitary children and 1 low-birth weight dwarf, and were compared to the effects of human growth hormone (hGH). Responses to the A-II fragment included a decrease in BUN (4 of 5 patients), an increase in calciuria (4 of 5 patients), and a decrease in urinary creatine excretion (2 of S patients). A marked increase in insulin resistance occurred in 2 subjects and, to a lesser degree, in 2 other subjects. An increase in fibrinogen and in uric acid occurred in the single patients in whom they were determined. Comparable responses occurred with hGH administration: decrease in BUN (4 of 5 subjects), increase in calciuria (3 of 5 subjects), decrease in urinary creatine excretion (5 of 5 subjects), increased insulin resistance in the 2 patients in whom it was evaluated and a rise in plasma fibrinogen in the 1 patient in whom it was evaluated. Two patients demonstrated decreased urinary nitrogen excretion with hGH administration, but not with A-II administration. These studies suggest that there is metabolic activity in humans of a fragment of bGH.