Breyer P R, Rothrock J K, Beaudry N, Pescovitz O H
Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University Medical Center, Indianapolis 46202, USA.
Endocrinology. 1996 May;137(5):2159-62. doi: 10.1210/endo.137.5.8612561.
The growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) gene is believed to produce a single functional peptide, GHRH (1). Although GHRH mRNA and peptide have been identified in various tissues, the only accepted function of GHRH is the stimulation of pituitary growth hormone. We have discovered that the GHRH mRNA encodes a second peptide that is abundant in testicular germ cells and specifically activates Sertoli cell expression of stem cell factor (SCF), a factor crucial for the normal progression of spermatogenesis (2). These observations suggest that the GHRH gene produces two distinct peptides, each with tissue-specific activities.
生长激素释放激素（GHRH）基因被认为仅产生一种功能性肽，即GHRH（1）。尽管已在多种组织中鉴定出GHRH mRNA和肽，但GHRH唯一被认可的功能是刺激垂体生长激素。我们发现，GHRH mRNA编码第二种肽，该肽在睾丸生殖细胞中大量存在，并特异性激活干细胞因子（SCF）的支持细胞表达，SCF是精子发生正常进程的关键因子（2）。这些观察结果表明，GHRH基因产生两种不同的肽，每种肽都具有组织特异性活性。
