Synonyms
Historical Background
The existence of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) was postulated following identification that hypothalamic extracts stimulate growth hormone (GH) release (Schally et al. 1965) and that hypothalamic lesions in rats caused a reduction in linear growth and reduced pituitary weight (Reichlin 1961). Pituitary extracts from these rats had a marked reduction in capacity to stimulate growth, suggesting that loss of hypothalamic control of the pituitary gland might contribute to reduced pituitary GH production. Subsequent observations confirmed the release of GH soon following electrical stimulation of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) and thus provided an added premise that a potent hypothalamic GH-stimulating factor may selectively enhance pituitary GH production and release (Frohman et al. 1968).
Initial attempts to isolate and...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Allen DB, Backeljauw P, Bidlingmaier M, Biller BM, Boguszewski M, Burman P, et al. GH safety workshop position paper: a critical appraisal of recombinant human GH therapy in children and adults. Eur J Endocrinol. 2016;174:P1–9. doi:10.1530/EJE-15-0873.
Baker LD, Barsness SM, Borson S, Merriam GR, Friedman SD, Craft S, et al. Effects of growth hormone-releasing hormone on cognitive function in adults with mild cognitive impairment and healthy older adults: results of a controlled trial. Arch Neurol. 2012;69:1420–9. doi:10.1001/archneurol.2012.1970.
Doga M, Bonadonna S, Burattin A, Giustina A. Ectopic secretion of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) in neuroendocrine tumors: relevant clinical aspects. Ann Oncol. 2001;12(Suppl 2):S89–94.
Frohman LA, Nernardis LL, Kant KJ. Hypothalamic stimulation of growth hormone secretion. Science. 1968;162:580–2.
Frohman LA, Szabo M, Berelowitz M, Stachura ME. Partial purification and characterization of a peptide with growth hormone-releasing activity from extrapituitary tumors in patients with acromegaly. J Clin Invest. 1980;65:43–54. doi:10.1172/JCI109658.
Gubler U, Monahan JJ, Lomedico PT, Bhatt RS, Collier KJ, Hoffman BJ, et al. Cloning and sequence analysis of cDNA for the precursor of human growth hormone-releasing factor, somatocrinin. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983;80:4311–4.
Kanashiro-Takeuchi RM, Szalontay L, Schally AV, Takeuchi LM, Popovics P, Jaszberenyi M, et al. New therapeutic approach to heart failure due to myocardial infarction based on targeting growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor. Oncotarget. 2015;6:9728–39. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.3303.
Lin-Su K, Wajnrajch MP. Growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) and the GHRH receptor. Rev Endocr Metab Disord. 2002;3:313–23.
Margioris AN, Brockmann G, Bohler Jr HC, Grino M, Vamvakopoulos N, Chrousos GP. Expression and localization of growth hormone-releasing hormone messenger ribonucleic acid in rat placenta: in vitro secretion and regulation of its peptide product. Endocrinology. 1990;126:151–8. doi:10.1210/endo-126-1-151.
Mayo KE, Vale W, Rivier J, Rosenfeld MG, Evans RM. Expression-cloning and sequence of a cDNA encoding human growth hormone-releasing factor. Nature. 1983;306:86–8.
Mayo KE, Godfrey PA, Suhr ST, Kulik DJ, Rahal JO. Growth hormone-releasing hormone: synthesis and signaling. Recent Prog Horm Res. 1995;50:35–73.
Obal Jr F, Krueger JM. GHRH and sleep. Sleep Med Rev. 2004;8:367–77. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2004.03.005.
Reichlin S. Growth hormone content of pituitaries from rats with hypothalamic lesions. Endocrinology. 1961;69:225–30. doi:10.1210/endo-69-2-225.
Romero MJ, Lucas R, Dou H, Sridhar S, Czikora I, Mosieri EM, et al. Role of growth hormone-releasing hormone in dyslipidemia associated with experimental type 1 diabetes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016;113:1895–900. doi:10.1073/pnas.1525520113.
Schally AV, Steelman SL, Bowers CY. Effect of hypothalamic extracts on release of growth hormone in vitro. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1965;119:208–12.
Schally AV, Varga JL, Engel JB. Antagonists of growth-hormone-releasing hormone: an emerging new therapy for cancer. Nat Clin Pract Endocrinol Metab. 2008;4:33–43. doi:10.1038/ncpendmet0677.
Steyn FJ. Nutrient sensing overrides somatostatin and growth hormone-releasing hormone to control pulsatile growth hormone release. J Neuroendocrinol. 2015;27:577–87. doi:10.1111/jne.12278.
Steyn FJ, Tolle V, Chen C, Epelbaum J. Neuroendocrine regulation of growth hormone secretion. Compr Physiol. 2016;6:687–735. doi:10.1002/cphy.c150002.
Thorner MO. The discovery of growth hormone-releasing hormone. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1999;84:4671–6. doi:10.1210/jcem.84.12.6210.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Steyn, F.J. (2018). Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH). In: Choi, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Signaling Molecules. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67199-4_101674
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67199-4_101674
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-67198-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-67199-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences