Evidence for the Release of a Novel Pituitary Polypeptide (7B2) from the Growth Hormone-Producing Pituitary Adenoma of Patients with Acromegaly*

We studied the release of the pituitary polypeptide 7B2 in normal subjects and patients with acromegaly. Plasma 7B2 concentrations did not increase in response to human GHRH and TRH in normal subjects. Plasma 7B2 concentrations significantly increased from 124.4 +/- 39.9 (mean +/- SE) to 206.9 +/- 55.9 ng/L (180.8 +/- 17.9% of the basal value; P less than 0.01) 15 min after iv administration of GHRH in eight acromegalic patients, but they did not increase in nine other acromegalic patients. Mean plasma 7B2 levels increased from 68.8 +/- 17.9 to 168.7 +/- 53.5 ng/L (241.8 +/- 34.2% of the basal value; P less than 0.005) 30 min after iv administration of TRH in four acromegalic patients, but the two other patients tested had no response. No elevations of plasma 7B2 were found after iv administration of ovine CRH in six patients with Cushing's disease and after iv administration of TRH and/or oral administration of bromocriptine in six prolactinoma patients. In experiments using cultured human somatotroph adenoma cells, high K+ induced 7B2 release. The apparent mol wt of 7B2 in plasma was 20,000, whereas that of 7B2 in the culture medium was about 45,000. These findings suggest that 7B2 is secreted by human GH-producing pituitary adenoma cells and that plasma 7B2 responses to GHRH and/or TRH may be characteristics of human somatotroph adenomas.