IGF-1Insulin-like growth factor 1 · Somatomedin C
A growth factor that mediates many of growth hormone's effects on tissue.
IGF-1 is produced mainly by the liver in response to growth hormone, and locally within muscle in response to loading. Structurally similar to insulin, it promotes cell growth and division and suppresses apoptosis.
It matters because it is a more stable measure than growth hormone itself, which is released in pulses and hard to interpret from a single sample — so IGF-1 is what clinicians actually measure to assess GH status.
In practice it sits at an interesting tension in longevity research: higher IGF-1 supports muscle and bone, while lower lifetime IGF-1 signalling is associated with longer life in several animal models and some human populations. The trade-off between growth and longevity is real and unresolved, which is a good reason to be sceptical of anything marketed as an IGF-1 booster.
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Written and reviewed by Mathew Beale, MSc Biotechnology, University of Reading.
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