Circulating growth hormone isoforms in girls with Turner's syndrome

To evaluate the presence of different GH isoforms in serum of girls with Turner's syndrome, we measured the serum GH content using RIAs with three different site-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). We compared the results to those obtained with authentic GH and GH isoforms. Compared to pituitary GH (mol wt, 22K daltons) as the standard for all three MAbs, serum from girls with Turner's syndrome did not displace tracer [125I]GH equally with all three MAbs. The relative amounts of GH-immunoreactive material found in Turner's syndrome were different from the amounts observed in normal adults and most children with idiopathic short stature. The presence of GH, other than 22K GH, in serum from girls with Turner's syndrome was confirmed by affinity chromatography. The existence of different isoforms of GH, as shown by different cross-reactivity patterns with different MAbs to GH, may explain the conflicting results reported for GH secretion in girls with Turner's syndrome.