Thyrotrophin-releasing hormone-induced growth hormone secretion in ducks: independence of peripheral plasma somatostatin, insulin, and glucagon

Role of melatonin in the control of growth and growth hormone secretion in poultry

The pineal hormone melatonin controls reproduction of photoperiodic mammals and is an integral part of the circadian organization in birds. Recent findings indicate an involvement of this hormone also in more basic physiological processes, including growth, development, and aging. Melatonin may modulate growth in poultry through interaction with transcriptional factors, through interaction with hormones involved in growth control, and by modulation of energy metabolism and decreasing physical activity. Our studies showed that a single melatonin injection increased plasma growth hormone (GH) concentrations in the Japanese quail. Specific serotonin receptor blocker ketanserin did not preclude a stimulatory action of melatonin on GH synthesis. Serotonin agonist quipazine increased GH levels but failed to enhance the stimulatory effect of melatonin. Pretreatment with melatonin in drinking water did not affect the magnitude of the GH response to subcutaneous (s.c.) administration of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) that considerably stimulated GH secretion. Present data suggest that melatonin modulates rather central neural pathways involved in the control of GH synthesis at the hypothalamic level than the sensitivity of the pituitary gland.

Nucleotide sequence of the complementary DNA for turkey growth hormone

Near-full length complementary DNA (cDNA) clones encoding turkey growth hormone (GH) have been isolated from a pituitary library. The longer of the two turkey GH cDNA clones that were sequenced is 803 base pairs (bp) in length and contains 41 nucleotides of the 5'-untranslated region (UTR), an open reading frame of 648 bp that encodes a 25 amino acid leader polypeptide segment as well as a 191 amino acid mature turkey GH protein, and a 3'-UTR that is 92 bp long followed by a 22 bp poly A tract. Comparison of the turkey GH nucleotide sequence to that of other avian GH clones shows the coding region to be greater than 93% homologous while the homology to mammalian GH sequences is between 68 and 78%. Northern blot analysis showed an approximate 800 bp turkey GH processed mRNA transcript that hybridized to the turkey GH cDNA probe. A large up-regulation of turkey GH transcription occurred when intact cultured pituitaries were treated with 1 nM human growth hormone releasing hormone but only modest changes were observed when cultures were treated with thyroid releasing hormone or somatostatin.