title: Biosynthetic 20-kilodalton methionyl-human growth hormone has diabetogenic and insulin-like activities.
abstract: The anterior pituitary gland produces a 20-kilodalton (kDa) variant of human growth hormone (hGH) that differs from the predominant 22-kDa form of hGH in that amino acid residues 32-46 are deleted. Previous work has suggested that the 20-kDa variant possesses the full growth-promoting and lactogenic activities of 22-kDa hGH but lacks its intrinsic diabetogenic and insulin-like activities. In the present study, recombinant DNA techniques were used to prepare biosynthetic 20-kDa hGH, and some of the biological properties of the purified hGH variant were examined. The biosynthetic 20-kDa hGH variant was found to share the propensity for aggregation exhibited by its native counterpart. Moreover, like the native variant, biosynthetic 20-kDa hGH possessed full growth-promoting activity in the weight gain test in hypophysectomized rats. However, contrary to previous work suggesting that native 20-kDa hGH lacks diabetogenic and insulin-like activities, biosynthetic 20-kDa hGH was found to have substantial diabetogenic activity when administered chronically to ob/ob mice and to possess approximately 20% the in vitro insulin-like activity of biosynthetic 22-kDa hGH on isolated epididymal adipose tissue of hypophysectomized rats. The diabetogenic and insulin-like activities of biosynthetic 20-kDa hGH cannot be ascribed to contamination of the hormone preparation with the 22-kDa form of hGH or with other diabetogenic or insulin-like pituitary peptides. Therefore, the results strongly suggest that diabetogenic and insulin-like activities are also intrinsic properties of the 20-kDa variant of hGH.
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay; D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000139:chemically induced*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007328:Insulin / Q000494:pharmacology; D007526:Isoelectric Point; D008715:Methionine; D051379:Mice; D008820:Mice, Obese; D008970:Molecular Weight; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D007328:Insulin; D013006:Growth Hormone; D008715:Methionine; D005947:Glucose