Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Vol 59, 747-751, Copyright © 1984 by Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

Distribution of immunoreactive growth hormone-releasing hormone in the human brain and intestine and its production by tumors

ND Christofides, A Stephanou, H Suzuki, Y Yiangou and SR Bloom

A recently developed RIA for human pancreatic tumor GH-releasing hormone (hpGRH1-44NH2) was used to investigate its distribution in the human gastrointestinal tract and brain, and to determine the incidence of its production by tumors. GRH-immunoreactivity (GRH-IR) was present in several regions of the human brain, the highest concentration occurring in the hypothalamus, septum, and substantia inominata. In the gastrointestinal tract GRH-IR was present in the upper intestine, where it was confined to the epithelial mucosa. Approximately one third of all tumors examined (35 out of 97) contained significant amounts of GRH- IR. Gel chromatography of brain and intestinal extracts, and of several tumors, revealed the presence of two molecular forms of GRH-IR, one coeluting with the synthetic hpGRH1-44 amide standard (and also hpGRH1- 40) and another eluting significantly later. The earlier eluting GRH-IR peak was found to be similar to the synthetic hpGRH1-44 NH2 and hpGRH1- 40 on high pressure liquid chromatography analysis.

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