From enhancing wound healing to combating neurodegeneration and cancer, growth hormone-releasing hormone and its analogs reveal groundbreaking roles that could redefine future therapies. Study: Growth hormone-releasing hormone and its analogs in health and disease . Image Credit: Kateryna Kon / Shutterstock.
com In a recent study published in the journal Nature Reviews Endocrinology , researchers reviewed over four decades of research on the biological activities of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and its analogs. The review presents in vitro and in vivo evidence for the beneficial roles of GHRH and its analogs in cell growth and wound healing, inflammation , cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancers, immunity, and psychiatric health, including neurodegenerative conditions. What is GHRH? Otherwise referred to as ‘somatoliberin,’ GHRH is a family of hypothalamic peptide hormones that trigger and modulate the synthesis and release of somatotropin or growth hormone (GH).
First hypothesized in the 1960s, GHRH was clinically observed in the 1980s in carcinoid and pancreatic islet cells and subsequently isolated from human acromegaly-inducing pancreatic tumors. Since then, extensive research on GHRH has led to the discovery of their functions including stimulation of the anterior pituitary gland to regulate GH concentrations, splice variants, and potential clinical applications. GHRH antagonists are of particular interest due to their anti-inflammatory , antitumor, and imm.
