growth hormone (hGH)

growth hormone whole body or tissue reaction (with IGFs)

- bone and cartilage growth - soft tissue growth - increase plasma glucose

growth hormone half life

18 minutes

growth hormone chemical nature

191-amino acid peptide, several closely related forms

growth hormone control pathway

GHRH, somatostatin (hypothalamus) --> growth hormone (anterior pituitary)

growth hormone origin

anterior pituitary

growth hormone factors affecting release

circadian rhythm of tonic secretion; influenced by circulating nutrients, stress, and other hormones in a complex fastion

growth hormone main effects

growth factor secretion, growth and metabolism

growth hormone transport in the circulation

half is dissolved in plasma, half is bound to a binding protein whose structure is identical to that of the GH receptor

growth hormone primary target

liver, many tissues

growth hormone target receptor

membrane receptor with tyrosine kinase activity

growth hormone action at cellular level

receptor linked to kinases that phosphorylate proteins to initiate transcription

growth hormone target cells or tissues

trophic on liver for insulin-like growth factor production; also acts directly on many cells

growth hormone biosynthesis

typical peptide