MOUSE GROWTH HORMONE-BINDING PROTEIN AND GROWTH-HORMONE RECEPTOR TRANSCRIPTS ARE PRODUCED FROM A SINGLE-GENE BY ALTERNATIVE SPLICING

Serum contains a soluble growth hormone-binding protein which is produ ced in some species by proteolytic cleavage of the extracellular domai n of the growth hormone receptor. The hypothesis that a growth hormone -binding protein messenger RNA is produced in other species by alterna tive splicing of nascent growth hormone receptor transcripts was confi rmed by analysis of the mouse growth hormone receptor gene. An exon th at encodes the hydrophilic tail of the binding protein is located betw een an exon encoding the final portion of the hormone binding domain a nd an exon encoding the hydrophobic transmembrane domain of the recept or.