Definition
A 44-residue hypothalamic peptide that stimulates growth hormone release via the pituitary GHRH receptor.
Growth hormone-releasing hormone is a 44-amino-acid peptide produced in the hypothalamus. It acts on the GHRH receptor, a class B G protein-coupled receptor on pituitary somatotroph cells, raising cAMP and stimulating growth hormone synthesis and release. Somatostatin opposes it. The first 29 residues, GHRH(1–29), retain full activity, which is the basis of sermorelin. Research analogues include CJC-1295, with or without an albumin-binding DAC group, and tesamorelin, an N-terminally modified full-length GHRH that is an approved prescription medicine for a specific indication. GHRH and its analogues appear on the WADA Prohibited List under S2.