Biosynthesis of Thyrotropin Releasing Hormone

促甲状腺激素释放激素（TRH）在眼丘脑-垂体-甲状腺轴中起中心作用。尽管近二十年的工作，实际上对TRH生产的监管一无所知。Goodman博士和合作者建议使用最近分离的TRH cDNA和TRH产生细胞系来表征TRH生物合成的因素和机制。他将使用完整的动物来比较离散脑区和大鼠细胞系中的TRH样mrna，以确定影响TRH生物合成和分泌的因子。他还将测试TRH前体是否能产生除TRH外影响垂体功能的肽。最后，他将使用产生TRH的细胞系来鉴定TRH基因中对调节和组织特异性表达很重要的成分。阐明控制TRH生物合成和分泌的因素和机制将大大增加我们对大脑如何调节内分泌功能的理解。

Thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) plays a central role in the hopothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis. Despite nearly twenty years of work, virtually nothing is known about the regulation of TRH production. Dr. Goodman and collaborators propose to use a recently isolated TRH cDNA and TRH-producing cell line to characterize the factors and mechanisms that underlie TRH biosynthesis. He will use intact animals to compare TRH-like mRNAs in discrete brain regions and a rat cell line to identify agents that affect TRH biosynthesis and secretion. He will also test whether the TRH precursor can generate peptides in addition to TRH that affect pituitary function. Finally, he will use the TRH-producing cell line to identify the components of the TRH gene that are important for regulated and tissue-specific expression. Elucidation of the factors and mechanisms that control TRH biosynthesis and secretion would greatly increase our understanding of how the brain regulates endocrine function.