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Corticotrophin releasing factor-like immunoreactivity (CRF-LI) and bioactivity, and arginine vasopressinlike immunoreactivity (AVP-LI) have been measured in extracts of human fetal and adult hypothalamic tissue and their development with the gestational age of the fetuses (12–27 weeks) studied. CRF-LI was measured by a radioimmunoassay developed for ovine corticotrophin-releasing factor (oCRF-41). Corticotrophin-releasing factor bioactivity was measured in a rat isolated anterior pituitary cell perfusion system. CRF-LI and bioactivity and AVP-LI were all detectable in fetal hypothalamic extracts from 12 to 13 weeks of gestational age. CRF-LI was also present in human fetal pituitary glands from 12 weeks of gestational age. The concentration of CRF-LI in the fetal hypothalamic extracts (9·2±11·4 ng/g, mean ± S.E.M., n = 33) showed no significant correlation with the gestational age of the fetuses. However the concentration of AVP-LI (25·0–36·8 ng/g, n = 17) did show a positive correlation (r = 0·508, P<0·05) with gestational age, as did the concentration of CRF bioactivity (471·3–556·3 ng ACTH released/g tissue, n = 13, r = 0·725, P < 0·01).

The CRF bioactivity of all fetal hypothalamic extracts was potentiated by the addition of synthetic human (h)AVP, but the bioactivity of the adult hypothalamic extracts was not, presumably because of the higher levels of AVP-LI already present in the adult extracts. Pretreatment of tissue extracts with antisera to oCRF-41 and/or hAVP reduced the CRF bioactivity of all hypothalamic extracts. Sephadex chromatography of fractions which co-eluted with synthetic oCRF-41 or hAVP contained CRF bioactivity and this bioactivity was potentiated when synthetic hAVP or oCRF-41, respectively, were added to the fractions. However, a larger molecular weight form of CRF-LI (8000–10 000 daltons), which was observed only in fetuses of 20 weeks of gestational age or less, did not contain any significant CRF bioactivity.

J. Endocr. (1986) 108, 171–180