Proghrelin, the precursor of the orexigenic and adipogenic peptide hormone ghrelin, is synthetized in endocrine (A-like) cells in the gastric mucosa. During its cellular processing, proghrelin gives rise to the 28-amino acid peptide desacyl ghrelin, which after octanoylation becomes active acyl ghrelin, and to the 23-amino acid peptide obestatin, claimed to be a physiological opponent of acyl g...

Ghrelin is an endogenous ligand for the GH secretagogue/ghrelin receptor (GHS-R) and stimulates feeding behavior and GH levels in rodents and humans. A preprandial increase in plasma ghrelin levels is seen in sheep on programmed feeding, followed by a postprandial rise in plasma GH levels, but effects on food intake and endocrine function are not defined in this ruminant species. We administere...

Although ghrelin has been demonstrated to stimulate energy intake and storage through a central mechanism, its effect on hepatic lipid metabolism remains largely uncharacterized. Ghrelin receptor antagonism or gene deletion significantly decreased obesity-associated hepatic steatosis by suppression of de novo lipogenesis, whereas exogenous ghrelin stimulated lipogenesis, leading to hepatic lipi...

OBJECTIVES Ghrelin is a peptide hormone that has been shown to have numerous central and peripheral effects. The central effects including GH secretion, food intake, and energy homeostasis are partly mediated by Kiss1- KissR signaling pathway. Ghrelin and its receptor are also expressed in the pancreatic islets. Ghrelin is one of the key metabolic factors controlling insulin secretion from the ...

OBJECTIVE The recently isolated endogenous GH secretagogue, named ghrelin, is a gastric peptide of 28 amino acids with an n-octanoylation in the serine 3 that confers the biological activity to this factor. Ghrelin has been shown to directly stimulate GH release in vivo and in vitro and to be involved in the regulation of gastric acid secretion and motility. In the present work we have studied ...

Ghrelin is a novel peptide that acts on the growth hormone (GH) secretagogue receptor in the pituitary and hypothalamus. It may function as a third physiological regulator of GH secretion, along with GH-releasing hormone and somatostatin. In addition to the action of ghrelin on the GH axis, it appears to have a role in the determination of energy homeostasis. Although feeding suppresses ghrelin...

BACKGROUND Ghrelin is a novel growth hormone-releasing peptide administered to treat chronic heart failure (CHF). However, the underlying mechanism of its protective effects against heart failure (HF) remains unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 68 patients with CHF and 20 healthy individuals were included. The serum levels of Angiotensin II (Ang II) and ghrelin were measured using ELISA. ...

Plasma ghrelin levels are responsive to short- and long-term nutrient fluctuation, rapidly decreasing with food consumption and increasing with food deprivation or weight loss. We hypothesized a vagal contribution to both responses. Nutrient-related ghrelin suppression may be mediated by gastrointestinal load-related vagal afferent activity, or depend upon vagal efferent input to the foregut, w...

Recent studies demonstrate widespread expression of ghrelin among tissues and have uncovered its pleiotropic nature. We have examined gene expression of ghrelin and its two receptor splice variants, growth hormone secretagogue receptors (GHS-R) 1a and 1b, in human bone biopsies and in the human pre-osteoblastic SV-HFO cell line during differentiation. Additionally, we examined proliferative eff...

Oxidative stress is a major cause of the gastrointestinal damage under physical or psychological stress. Ghrelin exhibits gastroprotective effects and they are supposed to be derived from antioxidant effects. In gastroduodenal mucosal injury, the plasma ghrelin levels increase in response to the demand for gastroduodenal cytoprotection. However, in the condition of Helicobacter pylori-induced g...