Comparison of gene expression in normal and growth hormone receptor-deficient dwarf chickens reveals a novel growth hormone regulated gene.

Because of a dysfunctional growth hormone (GH) receptor there is an absence of GH-dependent gene expression in the sex-linked dwarf chicken. Therefore, a comparison of mRNAs expressed in normal and dwarf chickens should lead to the identification of mRNAs that are regulated by GH action. We have compared gene expression in normal and dwarf chickens using the mRNA differential display technique. A combination of three anchored oligo dT primers and 15 random decamers were used to detect at least 75 differentially expressed mRNAs. One of these, designated GHRG-1, hybridizes to a 0.9 kb transcript found only in liver and in normal chickens shows a pattern of developmental expression which parallels the plasma GH profile. A GHRG-1 cDNA clone was isolated that encodes a 120 amino acid peptide with no homology to any known gene. Sequence of the promoter from a genomic clone shows a region with strong similarity to the GH response element identified in the serine protease inhibitor gene, Spi 2.1. These results suggest that GHRG-1 is a novel GH regulated gene.

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