Secretory pattern of canine growth hormone.

Our aim was to define the secretory pattern of growth hormone (GH) under basal conditions in fasted, conscious, male dogs accustomed to handling. Blood samples were withdrawn from a cephalic vein at 15-min intervals. In this way, any ultradian rhythms, if present, could be detected within the frequency range of 0.042-2 cycles/h. In addition, samples were drawn at either 1- or 2.5-min intervals for 2.5 or 5 h to determine whether frequency components greater than 2 cycles/h were present. GH was measured by radioimmunoassay and the raw data were submitted to time series analysis employing power spectral estimation by means of fast Fourier transformation techniques. Peak plasma levels were up to 12 times higher than the baseline concentration of approximately 1 ng/ml. Spectral analysis revealed an endogenous frequency of 0.22 cycles/h, i.e., a periodicity of 4.5 h/cycle. The results indicate that under basal conditions the secretory bursts of canine GH are limited to one peak every 4.5 h.