Pregnancy, but not dietary octanoic acid supplementation, stimulates the ghrelin-pituitary growth hormone axis in mice.

Circulating growth hormone (GH) concentrations increase during pregnancy in mice and remain pituitary-derived. Whether abundance or activation of the GH secretagogue ghrelin increase during pregnancy, or in response to dietary octanoic acid supplementation, is unclear. We therefore measured circulating GH profiles in late pregnant C57BL/6J mice and in aged-matched non-pregnant females fed with standard laboratory chow supplemented with 5% octanoic or palmitic (control) acid (n = 4-13/group).

Rising maternal circulating GH during murine pregnancy suggests placental regulation.

Placenta-derived hormones including growth hormone (GH) in humans contribute to maternal adaptation to pregnancy, and intermittent maternal GH administration increases foetal growth in several species. Both patterns and abundance of circulating GH are important for its activity, but their changes during pregnancy have only been reported in humans and rats. The aim of the present study was to characterise circulating profiles and secretory characteristics of GH in non-pregnant female mice and throughout murine pregnancy.