INTRODUCTION Ghrelin has been recently identified as a mediator of various beneficial effects in animal models of sepsis. At present, no data are available concerning specific properties of ghrelin in critically ill patients from large cohorts. In order to identify possible pathogenic functions of ghrelin in critically ill patients and human sepsis from a clinical point of view, we aimed at ana...

Ghrelin, a GH-releasing acylated peptide, has been recently identified from the rat stomach. The purified peptide consists of 28 amino acids in which the serine 3 residue is n-octanoylated. Here we show that ghrelin messenger RNA and ghrelin peptide are present in the human as well as in rat placentae. In human placenta, ghrelin was detected by PCR at both first trimester and after delivery. Wh...

The stomach-derived "hunger hormone" ghrelin increases in the circulation in direct response to time since the last meal, increasing preprandially and falling immediately following food consumption. We found previously that peripheral injection of ghrelin potently stimulates food foraging (FF), food hoarding (FH), and food intake (FI) in Siberian hamsters. It remains, however, largely unknown i...

Ghrelin is a peptide hormone that is acylated with a fatty acid, usually n-octanoic acid, at the third amino acid (aa) residue (usually a serine or threonine), and this acylation is known to be essential for ghrelin activity not only in mammals but also in non-mammals, such as fish. However, the modification mechanisms of ghrelin modification in fish are not known. In this study, we elucidated ...

Ghrelin is a 28-amino acid peptide secreted mainly by the stomach. Acyl-ghrelin, which binds to and activates the growth hormone secretagogue receptor type 1a (GHS-R1a), is considered to be the active form for its orexigenic effects. It has been demonstrated that peripheral administration of ghrelin stimulates food intake and adiposity in rodents and humans. Accordingly, different approaches to...

OBJECTIVE To assess whether some of the alterations in energy homeostasis present in thyroid function disorders and GH deficiency could be mediated by ghrelin. DESIGN To assess the influence of thyroid status on ghrelin, adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with vehicle (euthyroid), amino-triazole (hypothyroid) or l-thyroxine (hyperthyroid). The influence of GH on ghrelin was assessed ...

Ghrelin has orexigenic effects. It is present in umbilical cord plasma in full-term neonates, raising the prospect that ghrelin plays a role in fetal and neonatal energy balance. We measured ghrelin in small (SGA), appropriate (AGA), and large (LGA) for gestational age neonates and evaluated whether ghrelin levels are modulated by neonatal insulin and glucose concentrations. Plasma concentratio...

Ghrelin is a 28-amino-acid peptide that plays multiple roles in humans and other mammals. The functions of ghrelin include food intake regulation, gastrointestinal (GI) motility, and acid secretion by the GI tract. Many GI disorders involving infection, inflammation, and malignancy are also correlated with altered ghrelin production and secretion. Although suppressed ghrelin responses have alre...

BACKGROUND Ghrelin is a novel growth hormone-releasing peptide that has been shown to improve cachexia in heart failure and cancer and to ameliorate the hemodynamic and metabolic disturbances in septic shock. Because cytokine-induced inflammation is critical in these pathological states and because the growth hormone secretagogue receptor has been identified in blood vessels, we examined whethe...

Expression of the neuroendocrine marker synaptic vesicle protein 2 (SV2) has been reported in a few cases of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). The goal of the present study was to assess the relevance of this finding and identify a possible hormone production in these tumors. We chose to study the orexigen ghrelin and its receptor, since these patients are seldom cachexic, even in advanc...