Construction and in vivo efficacy of a replication-deficient recombinant adenovirus encoding murine growth hormone

We have constructed a recombinant, replication-deficient, first-generation adenovirus-encoding mouse GH (mGH), AdCMVmGH. This virus directed mGH produ ction from an epithelial cell line in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. Whe n injected into the quadriceps muscle or submandibular ducts of mGH-deficie nt Snell dwarf mice, AdCMVmGH resulted in the production of significantly e levated serum mGH levels. Furthermore, after im injection, dwarf mice incre ased in weight by 8% over 4 days and close to 100% by 30 days. When AdCMVmG H was administered to 3- to 4-week-old rats by iv injection to assess gener al metabolic responses, serum mGH, insulinlike growth factor 1, triglycerid es and cholesterol levels were significantly elevated. AdCMVmGH should be a valuable experimental tool for the controlled, directed expression of mGH in preclinical mouse model studies.