Introduction:

Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), also called Somatomedin C, is a polypeptide hormone similar to insulin. IGF-1 plays an important role in promoting tissue growth and can cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). It has a synergistic action with estrogen to maintain brain homeostasis during ageing (Castilla-Cortázar et al., 2020). IGF-1 acts on all body tissues to promote growth and maturation. It also plays a role in brain development, adult neural reorganization and neural cell production (Bondy & Cheng, 2004). Reduced IGF-1 levels are generally shown to cause dysregulation of neurovascular systems (Gubbi et al., 2018). IGF-1 can be a potential intervention for brain remodeling and ageing in future.

Future Research

• More studies necessary to understand the involvement of IGF-1 in Parkinson’s disease and cerebrovascular conditions.

• More human studies are essential to show that the down-regulation of IGF-1 prolongs lifespan.

References

Bondy, C. A., & Cheng, C. M. (2004). Signaling by insulin-like growth factor 1 in brain. European journal of pharmacology, 490(1-3), 25–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2004.02.042

Castilla-Cortázar, I., Aguirre, G.A., Femat-Roldán, G. et al. Is insulin-like growth factor-1 involved in Parkinson’s disease development?. J Transl Med 18, 70 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-020-02223-0

Gubbi, S., Quipildor, G. F., Barzilai, N., Huffman, D. M., & Milman, S. (2018). 40 YEARS of IGF1: IGF1: the Jekyll and Hyde of the aging brain. Journal of molecular endocrinology, 61(1), T171–T185. https://doi.org/10.1530/JME-18-0093