Growth hormone-releasing factor: structural modification or protection for more potent analogs

Growth hormone-releasing factor was discovered in 1982 by Guillemin and has been subjected to intense investigations because of its huge potential applications. The major concerns encountered with the native molecules were their short half-lives in vivo in many species including man, precluding the practical use of these peptides for medical or production purposes. Many efforts to produce analogs of shorter length, more resistant to degradation and having higher affinity to the receptors have been made during the last decades. The present paper presents a quick review of the work done to produce such analogs.