Age-related changes in the degradation of thyrotrophin releasing hormone by human and rat serum.

Changes in the rate of in-vitro degradation of thyrotrophin releasing hormone (TRH) in serum as related to age have been investigated in the rat and man. In rats, no inactivation was found up to the age of 15 days but therafter an age-related increase in inactivation was detected with approximately 75% inactivation in 60 min at 40 days and reaching a maximum of 88-93% inactivation in adult male and female animals. The human serum samples studied (both male and female) showed a similar but less clear-cut pattern of inactivation of TRH compared with that found in the rat. A physiological role for these age-related changes in the degradation of TRH remains to be established but it has been concluded that the changes observed in both rat and man may be associated with growth and development, possibly by facilitating feedback control of thyrotrophin secretion through the degradation of TRH.