Human pituitary glands Somatotropin

Growth hormone (somatotropin GH) is a protein hormone produced in specific cells (somatotrophs) of the pituitary gland. It comprises a single polypeptide chain of about 190 amino acids which folds, with formation of two disulphide bridges, to a compact tertiary structure (see also Addendum, p. 289). Amino acid sequences have been determined for GHs from several species [1,2] and these reveal a considerable amount of species variation in particular, human GH shows extensive differences from the GHs of non-primate mammals, and this has been interpreted as indicating a rapid rate of evolution for the GH gene in the primates [3,4], Differences in biological properties between human and non-primate GHs have also been observed, and will be considered later. 

Somatotropin (growth hormone GH) is a pituitary somatotrophic linear peptide hormone of 191 residues. The name somatotropin is used for human growth hormone (HGH), which was isolated from the pituitary glands of cadavers. This when used to treat short stature (dwarfism) brought with it the risk of acquiring Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease through contamination. It is now replaced in many countries by somatropin, which is a biosynthetic form of human growth hormone without this liability. 

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