What is sermorelin?
Sermorelin is the first 29 amino acids of human growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), with an amidated C-terminus. It was sold in the US as Geref from 1990 until its maker discontinued it in 2008. Here is its structure, why 29 residues are enough, how it was studied, and where it stands now.
Sermorelin in one table.
| Sequence | YADAIFTNSYRKVLGQLSARKLLQDIMSR-NH2 |
|---|---|
| Length | 29 amino acids, C-terminal amide |
| Formula | C149H246N44O42S |
| Molecular weight | 3357.9 g/mol (monoisotopic 3355.8187) |
| CAS number | 86168-78-7 |
| PubChem CID | 16132413; the acetate (Geref) is 16132412, 3417.9 g/mol |
| Source | Residues 1 to 29 of human GHRH (44 residues) |
| Status | Former US drug (Geref), discontinued in 2008 |
Formula and masses from Helion's peptide molecular weight calculator, matching PubChem.
The active end of GHRH.
Human GHRH was sequenced in 1982 from a pancreatic tumor that had caused acromegaly: a 44-residue peptide. Truncation studies then showed that the N-terminal 29 residues, amidated, keep the hormone's full intrinsic activity, though in rat pituitary cells at about half the potency of the full-length peptide; activity held down to 21 residues and was lost at 19. Sermorelin is that 29-residue fragment, described in a review as the shortest synthetic peptide with full GHRH activity.
A US drug from 1990 to 2008.
As sermorelin acetate, sold as Geref, it was approved by the FDA in 1990 as a test of the pituitary's growth hormone secretion and in 1997, as an orphan drug, for idiopathic growth hormone deficiency in children with growth failure. The maker discontinued both products in 2008, and the approvals were withdrawn at its request in 2009. In 2013 the FDA determined they were not withdrawn for reasons of safety or effectiveness.
Testing and pediatric studies.
Sermorelin was studied as a growth hormone response test in children, where responses in those with and without deficiency overlapped, and in a six-month multicenter randomized trial against growth hormone in 43 prepubertal children with hypothalamic growth hormone deficiency.
Same fragment, modified.
CJC-1295 without DAC, also called modified GRF(1-29), is sermorelin's sequence with four amino acids swapped to resist enzymes that cleave the natural fragment within minutes. Sermorelin vs CJC-1295 compares them residue by residue, and tesamorelin vs sermorelin vs ipamorelin sets it against the other GHRH analog and a ghrelin mimetic.
Not supplied.
Helion does not supply sermorelin. It supplies CJC-1295 (no DAC), the modified GRF(1-29), with ipamorelin in its CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin 10mg blend, for laboratory research use only.
Specs and storage by compound.
Questions (7)
What is sermorelin?
The first 29 amino acids of human growth hormone-releasing hormone with an amidated C-terminus, GHRH(1-29)-NH2.
What is the sermorelin sequence?
YADAIFTNSYRKVLGQLSARKLLQDIMSR-NH2.
Is sermorelin the same as GHRH?
It is the first 29 of GHRH's 44 amino acids, the part that carries its activity.
What was Geref?
The brand name for sermorelin acetate, approved in the US in 1990 and 1997 and discontinued by its maker in 2008.
Is sermorelin still approved?
No US product is marketed. The approvals were withdrawn at the maker's request in 2009, and the FDA later found this was not for safety or effectiveness reasons.
How is sermorelin different from CJC-1295?
CJC-1295 without DAC is sermorelin's sequence with four substitutions that make it resist enzymatic breakdown.
Does Helion sell sermorelin?
No. Helion supplies CJC-1295 (no DAC) with ipamorelin, for laboratory research use only.
Published studies (5)
- Growth hormone-releasing factor from a human pancreatic tumor that caused acromegaly
- Synthesis and in vitro bioactivity of C-terminal deleted analogs of human growth hormone-releasing factor
- Testing with growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF(1-29)NH2) and somatomedin C measurements for the evaluation of growth hormone deficiency
- Growth response to growth hormone-releasing hormone(1-29)-NH2 compared with growth hormone
- Sermorelin: a review of its use in the diagnosis and treatment of children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency
Citations from PubMed for reference. They describe the compound in the literature, not any Helion lot, and nothing here is guidance on use.