Human Growth Hormone

It has been ten years since the National Hormone and Pituitary Program (then called the National Pituitary Agency) sponsored a symposium on human growth hormone (hGH). Numerous advances have occurred during this period. This book does not attempt to summarize past achievements. Rather, it deals with the contemporary issues in hGH research. A discussion of the present state of the art, of necessity, includes a review of the past. Some of the topics herein discussed include the following: 1. Growth hormone releasing factor (GRF). In 1973, the growth hormone inhibitory factor (somatostatin) had recently been discovered. The search for a releasing factor in humans led to its discovery not in the pituitary but in a pancreatic tumor that secreted growth hormone. The advances are discussed in this book. The current hope is that GRF will eventually become an effective therapeutic agent for idiopathic hypopituitarism in childhood and adolescence. 2. Biosynthesis of hGR by recombinant DNA technology. Current advances are discussed. Although hGH is not yet an approved drug, it will eventually become one. This will broaden our horizons in terms of hGH effectiveness in disorders other than hypopituitary dwarfism. The current experience with this type of hGH in both the Vnited States and Europe is reviewed by several authors.

I.- The National Hormone and Pituitary Program: Achievements and Current Goals.- II.- The NIADDK Hormone Distribution Program.- I. Hypopituitarism and Hyperpituitarism: Clinical Studies.- 1 A Perspective on Growth Hormone and Growth: A Tribute to Maurice Raben.- 2 Growth Hormone Hypersecretory States.- 3 Clinical Features, Tests, and Causes of Growth Hormone Deficiency.- 4 Dose-Response Relationships in Growth Hormone Therapy.- 5 Dose Studies for Human Growth Hormone in Hypopituitarism: Current Recommendations.- 6 Subcutaneous versus Intramuscular Injection of Human Growth Hormone.- 7 Psychosocial Impact of Long-Term Growth Hormone Therapy.- II. Human Growth Hormone in other Forms of Short Stature: Gene Studies.- 8 Growth-Stimulating Effects of Human Growth Hormone Therapy in Turner’s Syndrome: Preliminary Report.- 9 Turner’s Syndrome and Human Growth Hormone: Biochemical Studies.- 10 Short Normal Children in Therapeutic Trial of Human Growth Hormone Responsiveness.- 11 Bioinactive Growth Hormone and Secondary Growth Hormone Deficiency.- 12 The Hyposomatomedinemic Short Child.- 13 Growth Hormone-Resistant Syndromes.- 14 Hormonal Regulation of Growth Hormone Gene Expression.- 15 Organization and Function of the Growth Hormone Gene Cluster.- 16 Defects of Growth Hormone Genes: Clinical Syndromes.- III. Biosynthesis of Human Growth Hormone: Clinical Studies.- 17 Standards for Growth Hormone.- 18 Recombinant DNA Synthesis of Human Growth Hormone.- 19 Methionyl Human Growth Hormone (Somatonorm®): Purity and Properties.- 20 Clinical Studies with Recombinant-DNA-Derived Methionyl-Human Growth Hormone in Growth Hormone-Deficient Children.- 21 Experience with Methionyl Growth Hormone (Somatonorm I) in the United Kingdom.- 22 Clinical Experience with Biosynthetic Growth Hormone (III).- IV. Control of Growth Hormone Secretion, Growth Hormone-Releasing Factor, Somatostatin.- 23 Regulation of Growth Hormone Secretion.- 24 Chemical, Anatomical and Physiological Studies on Human Pancreatic and Rat Hypothalamic Growth Hormone-Releasing Factor.- 25 Growth Hormone-Releasing Factor: Isolation, Characterization, and Physiology.- 26 Ectopic Growth Hormone-Releasing Factor Syndromes.- 27 Growth Hormone-Releasing Factor.- 28 Acromegaly Related to Tumoral Secretion of Growth Hormone-Releasing Factor.- 29 Studies with Growth Hormone-Releasing Factor (GRF) in the Human: Effect of a Single Pulse, Continuous Infusion, or Multiple Pulses of GRF on Growth Hormone (GH) Release in Normal and GH-Deficient Children and Adults.- 30 Somatostatin: Biosynthesis, Regulation of Secretion, and Role in Growth Hormone Regulation.- V. Chemistry of Human Growth Hormone: Physiological Studies.- 31 Conformational Comparison of Human Pituitary Growth Hormone and Human Chorionic Somatomammotropin (Human Placental Lactogen) by Second-Order Absorption Spectroscopy.- 32 Multiple Forms of Human Growth Hormone.- 33 The Multivalent Nature of Growth Hormone.- 34 Isolation of Growth Hormone Receptor.- 35 Structural Studies of the Growth Hormone Receptor by Affinity Labeling.- 36 Binding of Growth Hormone to Hepatic Receptors.- 37 Growth Hormone Action on Adipocytes.- VI. Somatomedin/Insulinlike Growth Factor.- 38 Chemistry of Somatomedins.- 39 Synthetic Somatomedin C/Insulinlike Growth Factor I.- 40 Biosynthesis of Rat Insulinlike Growth Factor II in Intact Cells and Cell-Free Translation.- 41 The Insulinlike Growth Factor Receptors.- 42 The Somatomedin Binding Proteins.- 43 Direct Action of Growth Hormone on Cartilage Growth.- 44 Increased Somatomedin Inhibitors in Renal Failure.- 45 Action of Somatomedins on Cell Growth: Effect of Selective Neutralization of Somatomedin C (Insulinlike Growth Factor I) with a Monoclonal Antibody.- 46 Regulation of Serum Insulinlike Growth Factor II.- 47 Somatomedin C/Insulinlike Growth Factor I: Regulation and Clinical Applications.- 48 Somatomedin/Insulinlike Growth Factor in the Human Fetus.- 49 Somatomedin C in the Ovine Fetus and Neonate.- Contributors.