title: Age-related changes of serum progastrin-releasing peptide levels during childhood.
abstract: Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) has attracted much attention in recent years because it has become recognized as a significant tissue-specific growth factor. To investigate the physiological significance of this peptide in growing children, the time course of serum ProGRP(31-98) level, a precursor hormone of GRP, in children was assessed. A total of 118 serum samples including cord blood was examined with informed consent by using a specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system to measure serum ProGRP(31-98). The serum ProGRP(31-98) level was highest in cord blood and neonatal samples, rapidly declined by 1 year of age and then gradually declined to the adult level by 5 years of age. This time-dependent change of serum ProGRP(31-98) level suggests the importance of GRP as a physiological growth factor in fetal and neonatal tissues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Adachi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aoyagi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D019886:Gastrin-Releasing Peptide; D005768:Gastrointestinal Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D010455:Peptides / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005768:Gastrointestinal Hormones; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D010455:Peptides; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C087079:pro-gastrin-releasing peptide (31-98); D019886:Gastrin-Releasing Peptide