Studies on the Growth Hormone of Normal and Dwarf Mice

Abstract

Extracts of pituitary glands of normal and dwarf mice were examined by electrophoresis on poly aery lamide gels. The major component seen in extracts of glands of normal mice was missing from the gland of the dwarf animal. The protein of the principal band was eluted from the gel and assayed for various biological activities. The only major hormonal activity associated with the band was that of growth hormone. The material behaved essentially as a single component when analyzed by gel-electrophoresis at 2 different values of pH. Growth hormone was also isolated from pituitary glands of normal mice by a procedure which employed conventional precipitation methods. This material compared identically with the major electrophoretic component of hypophysial extracts of normal mice. (Endocrinology76: 210, 1965)