Endocrinology, Vol 115, 1218-1220, Copyright © 1984 by Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

Antibodies to growth hormone-releasing factor inhibit somatic growth

WB Wehrenberg, B Bloch and BJ Phillips

We have raised antibodies to rat growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF) which, when acutely administered to rats, cause a complete inhibition of pulsatile GH release. Using this passive immunization technique, we have evaluated the role of GRF in normal somatic growth. Twenty-two-day- old male Sprague-Dawley rats (61 +/- 2 g, mean +/- SEM) were treated for 16 days with either normal rabbit serum (n = 7) or rabbit antiserum raised against GRF (n = 7). During this period the BW of rats treated with normal rabbit serum increased 8.3 +/- 0.4 g/day while rats treated with GRF antiserum increased 4.3 +/- 0.2 g/day (P less than 0.01). These rats were then left untreated for an additional 22 days to determine whether animals treated with GRF antiserum would demonstrate a period of catch-up growth. Rats treated with normal rabbit serum continued to increase in BW at 8.1 +/- 0.4 g/day. Remarkably, rats treated with GRF antiserum continued to have a reduced growth rate, 5.4 +/- 0.6 g/day (P less than 0.01). This reduced growth rate was not due to long-term suppression of GH, since the patterns of pulsatile secretion and concentrations of plasma GH were not different between the two groups when measured three weeks after termination of the GRF antiserum treatment. These results demonstrate that GRF has a primary role in somatic growth and suggest that its presence during postnatal development is required to ensure subsequent normal somatic growth.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. M. Lasko, A. I. Korytko, W. B. Wehrenberg, and L. Cuttler Differential GH-releasing hormone regulation of GHRH receptor mRNA expression in the rat pituitary Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, April 1, 2001; 280(4): E626 - E631. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. E. Muller, V. Locatelli, and D. Cocchi Neuroendocrine Control of Growth Hormone Secretion Physiol Rev, April 1, 1999; 79(2): 511 - 607. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]