Effect of brief exercise on circulating insulin-like growth factor I

An acute insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) response to 10 min of above- lactate threshold cycle ergometer exercise was studied in 10 subjects (age 22-35 yr). Each subject exercised on three separate mornings after ingesting one of two isocaloric isovolemic liquid meals high in either fat or glucose or an isovolemic noncaloric placebo. The high-fat meal attenuated the growth hormone (GH) response (Cappon et al., J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 76: 1418- 1422, 1993). In contrast, IGF-I increased equally for all protocols [e.g., after the placebo meal IGF-I increased from 21,716 (SE) ng/ml preexercise to 25,316 ng/ml at 10 min of exercise; P < 0.05]. IGF-I peaked by the 10th min of exercise, like GH, and remained significantly elevated for only 20 min of recovery. We tested for possible GH-dependent mechanisms in which circulating IGF-I would increase 12-24 h after exercise. Ten subjects (age 23-32 yr) performed 10 min of above-lactate threshold exercise at 9, 10, and 11 A.M. GH was elevated after the first exercise bout (peak GH 6.05 ± 1.45 ng/ml; P < 0.001) but was significantly reduced for the second and third bouts (peak GH 2.52 ± 0.76 and 1.50 ± 0.40 ng/ml, respectively). No increase in IGF-I was observed by 8 A.M. on the following day. Heavy ergometer exercise led to brief and small increases in circulating IGF-I that were independent of circulating GH. The role, if any, of the GH-IGF-I axis in anabolic effects of exercise may be difficult to evaluate from circulating levels of IGF-I measured over short time intervals.