Abstract: Human growth hormone(hGH)is a peptide hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland, which plays an important role in regulating the human metabolism and growth via the GH-IGF-1 axis. In 1958, Raben was one of earliest on using pituitary-derived growth hormone(pit-hGH)to treat children with hypopituitarism and got good effect. With the rapid development of molecular biology techniques, Goeddel and Seeburg have developed a lower cost and safer recombinant human growth hormone(rhGH)using gene recombinant expression technology in 1979. In 1985, the FDA approved rhGH for GHD patients. Today, the clinical application of rhGH is not confined to treat children with short statues. It is also widely used in severe burn, adult growth hormone deficiency(AGHD), chronic renal insufficiency, assisted reproductive, congenital hypoplasia of ovary, respiratory failure, severe infection and anti-aging fields. With the improvement of manufacturing processes and dosage form and the further elucidated of metabolic mechanisms, the rhGH is expected to bring more benefits to humankind.

Key words: human growth hormone, gene recombinant expression, children′s short stature, adult growth hormone deficiency, severe burns