Growth hormone releasing factor
| Growth hormone releasing hormone | |
|---|---|
| Identifiers | |
| Symbol | GHRH |
| Alt. symbols | GRF, GHRF |
| CAS number | |
| Entrez | 2691 |
| HUGO | 4265 |
| OMIM | 139190 |
| RefSeq | NM_021081 |
| UniProt | P01286 |
| Other data | |
| Locus | Chr. 20 p12 or q11.2-q12 |
Growth hormone–releasing hormone (GHRH), also known as somatocrinin or by several other names in its endogenous forms and as somatorelin (INN) in its pharmaceutical form, is a releasing hormone of growth hormone (GH). It is a 44-amino acid peptide hormone produced in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus.
GHRH first appears in the human hypothalamus between 18 and 29 weeks of gestation, which corresponds to the start of production of growth hormone and other somatotropes in fetuses.
GHRH is released from neurosecretory nerve terminals of these arcuate neurons, and is carried by the hypothalamo-hypophyseal portal system to the anterior pituitary gland, where it stimulates growth hormone (GH) secretion by stimulating the growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor. GHRH is released in a pulsatile manner, stimulating similar pulsatile release of GH. In addition, GHRH also promotes slow-wave sleep directly. Growth hormone is required for normal postnatal growth, bone growth, regulatory effects on protein, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism.
GHRH stimulates GH production and release by binding to the GHRH Receptor (GHRHR) on cells in the anterior pituitary.
The GHRHR is a member of the secretin family of G protein-coupled receptors, and is located on chromosome 7. This protein is transmembranous with seven folds, and its molecular weight is approximately 44 kD.
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