Abstract
During the past few years, several peptide hormones have been purified from hypothalamic tissue, their molecular structures determined and syntheses performed (Schally et al., 1973a). Studies carried out in vitro and in vivo clearly demonstrated that these peptides can selectively stimulate or inhibit the secretion of pituitary hormones from the anterior pituitary gland (Schally et al., 1973a). Careful clinical and veterinary evaluation of these hormones is in progress. It is likely that in the course of the next few years additional hypothalamic hormones will be isolated, identified, and synthesized. The purpose of this chapter is to review the methods of isolation and particularly synthesis of one of these hypothalamic hormones, the LH and FSH releasing hormone (LH-RH/FSH-RH) and to report the latest findings on the structure-activity relationships of this hormone.