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Hormonal Aspects of Antler Growth Regulation
Kužmová, Erika ; Bartoš, Luděk (advisor) ; Petr, Jaroslav (referee) ; Kierdorf, Uwe (referee)
Hormonal aspects of antler growth regulation Erika Kužmová Abstract Deer antlers are the only mammalian organ that completely regenerates and therefore they became an object of rising interest as a potential model for bone growth and development. In recent years, it has been confirmed that annual regeneration of the antler is initiated from the stem cell niche localised in the pedicle periosteum. Antlers grow to the length at the tip. Only a little is known about endocrine stimulation of antler growth and some discrepancy has arisen between in vivo and in vitro studies over the decades. As the secondary sexual character, the antler cycle timing and growth are linked to seasonal levels of testosterone. Since the levels are at their minimum during the antler growth phase, according to many mainly in vitro studies, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) tends to be accepted as the "antler stimulating hormone". Since the conclusion about the role of IGF-1 was contradictory to previous opinions and also in contrast with our own experience, we aimed to verify the role of IGF-1 in vitro. Our ex- periments were based on existing in vivo studies demonstrating the importance of testosterone, even in its low levels, and on the hypothesis that testosterone should be the "antler stimulating hormone". We performed in vitro...
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