Mutual effects of growth hormone and growth factors on avian skeletal muscle satellite cells

Chicken growth hormone (cGH) has been shown to affect chicken skeletal muscle satellite cell proliferation and differentiation in vitro. This study describes the interactions of cGH with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). Both cGH and bFGF induced cGH receptor (cGH-R) gene expression as well as that of the avian FGF receptor, FREK, when added at low concentrations to satellite cells. bFGF caused a rapid induction of cGH-R mRNA. Combinations of low levels of bFGF and cGH caused a further increase in receptor mRNA expression levels, relative to that caused by each peptide alone, and their effect on DNA synthesis was synergistic. However, combinations of cGH and bFGF at high concentrations decreased cGH-R and FREK mRNA levels and DNA synthesis in a dose-dependent manner. These results imply that the mutual effects of bFGF and cGH on satellite cell proliferation are receptor-mediated and that each peptide regulates both receptors gene expression. IGF-I induced DNA synthesis in satellite cells but did not affect cGH-R gene expression at any of the concentrations tested. Coincubation of 3.5 ng/ml cGH and various concentrations of IGF-1 did not significantly change DNA synthesis relative to the effect of cGH alone. However, combinations with high levels of cGH abolished it. Similar time-course (up to 6 hr) induction of DNA synthesis in serum-starved cells was observed in the presence of cGH or IGF-I, suggesting that cGH affects satellite cell proliferation in an IGF-I-independent manner.