Grino M, Chrousos G P, Margioris A N
Developmental Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1987 Nov 13;148(3):1208-14. doi: 10.1016/s0006-291x(87)80261-9.
Maternal plasma immunoreactive corticotropin-releasing hormone (IR-CRH) increases progressively with pregnancy. This elevated plasma IR-CRH is presumably secreted by the placenta. To investigate further this hypothesis, we searched for the CRH mRNA and its peptide product in full term human placentae. Using a radiolabelled 48-mer oligonucleotide probe complementary to a portion of human CRH mRNA, we identified a 1300 nucleotide RNA from human placenta and rat hypothalami. We next examined the chromatographic characteristics of the placental IR-CRH. The bulk of the IR-CRH extracted from placenta and the IR-CRH secreted in vitro by placental fragments had the same chromatographic profiles as synthetic CRH. These findings indicate that the CRH gene is expressed in human placenta and imply that this organ is a site of CRH biosynthesis during pregnancy.
孕妇血浆免疫反应性促肾上腺皮质激素释放激素（IR-CRH）水平随妊娠进展而逐渐升高。这种血浆IR-CRH水平的升高推测是由胎盘分泌的。为了进一步研究这一假说，我们在足月人胎盘中寻找CRH mRNA及其肽产物。使用与人类CRH mRNA一部分互补的放射性标记48聚体寡核苷酸探针，我们从人胎盘和大鼠下丘脑鉴定出一种1300个核苷酸的RNA。接下来，我们检测了胎盘IR-CRH的色谱特征。从胎盘提取的大部分IR-CRH以及胎盘碎片体外分泌的IR-CRH与合成CRH具有相同的色谱图谱。这些发现表明CRH基因在人胎盘中表达，意味着该器官是妊娠期间CRH生物合成的场所。
