Growth hormone receptors in hypothalamic and extra-hypothalamic tissues

Abstract

ABSTRACT Central GH receptors (GHR) have been identified in hypothalamic and extra-hypothalamic tissues of rabbit and chicken brains. Plasma membranes of the rabbit brain demonstrated specific saturable high-affinity, low-capacity binding sites for 125I-labelled GH. RNA extracted from hypothalamic and extra-hypothalamic tissues of rabbit and chicken brains contained mRNA that hybridized with a cDNA probe for the rabbit liver GHR. This transcript was of a similar size to the major GHR mRNA moiety in rabbit liver. The expression of these moieties was age related, and higher in adult than in neonatal animals.