Abstract
The human growth hormone (hGH) gene family consists of 5 members linked on the long arm of chromosome 17. The hGH-A gene is expressed by the somatotrophs of the anterior pituitary. The hGH-B gene encodes a GH-like polypeptide of unknown function. To determine if hGH-B is capable of stimulating growth in animals, transgenic mice containing a metallothionine-I/hGH-B fusion gene were generated. The GH produced by these mice was compared with pituitary hGH-A, mouse GH, and hGH-A and hGH-B from transfected mouse L cell fibroblasts. The 3 transgenic male mice were larger at weaning (26-31 gms) than control males (20 ± 0.4 gms); by age 2 mos the transgenic mice were 40-90% larger than the controls. Serum from these mice contained large (17-30 μg/ml) amounts of hGH-immunoreactivity while control serum did not. The GH-immunoreactivity from the transgenic mice differed from hGH-A in a) cross-reactivity with a panel of monoclonal antibodies, b) behavior on gel filtration and c) pI.
Conclusions: hGH-B is capable of stimulating growth in mice. The differences in amino acid sequence between hGH-A and hGH-B result in substantial differences in tertiary and quanternary structure.
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Blethen, S., Selden, R., Chasalow, F. et al. HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE VARIANT (hGH-B) PROMOTES GROWTH IN TRANSGENIC MICE. Pediatr Res 21 (Suppl 4), 244 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00462
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00462