| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
Endocrinology and Diabetes Unit, British Columbia’s Children’s Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6H 3V4
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Jean-Pierre Chanoine, M.D. Ph.D., Endocrinology and Diabetes Unit, Room K4-212, British Columbia’s Children’s Hospital, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6H 3V4. E-mail: jchanoine{at}cw.bc.ca.
Ghrelin is an orexigenic peptide secreted mainly by the stomach in adult rats. Ghrelin concentrations increase with fasting and decrease after food intake. Ghrelin is also present in the placenta and in the fetal stomach, but the role of fetal ghrelin remains unclear. In this study, we compared changes in plasma ghrelin, insulin, and glucose concentrations and in ghrelin gene expression in stomach, pancreas, and placenta in response to fasting and feeding in adult nonpregnant rats and in 20-d pregnant dams and their fetuses. Plasma total ghrelin concentrations were three times higher in the fetus than in the dam but did not increase in response to fasting. In contrast to total ghrelin, plasma active ghrelin concentrations wee 50% lower in the fetus compared with the adult pregnant rat. Ghrelin mRNA and total ghrelin were markedly elevated in the fetal pancreas and six to seven times greater than in the fetal stomach but were not affected by fasting. In contrast, fetal pancreas and stomach active ghrelin concentrations increased two to three times after maternal fasting. Ghrelin receptor mRNA was present in all fetal pancreas samples. Placenta ghrelin gene expression was detectable but low. These data raise the possibility that in the fetus, in contrast to the adult, the pancreas and not the stomach is a major source of circulating immunoreactive ghrelin. Furthermore, the presence of a strong ghrelin gene expression and of ghrelin receptor mRNA in the fetal pancreas is intriguing and suggests that ghrelin may play an important role in ß-cell development.
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  X. Wang, L. Liang, and L. Du The effects of intrauterine undernutrition on pancreas ghrelin and insulin expression in neonate rats J. Endocrinol., July 1, 2007; 194(1): 121 - 129. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Granata, F. Settanni, L. Biancone, L. Trovato, R. Nano, F. Bertuzzi, S. Destefanis, M. Annunziata, M. Martinetti, F. Catapano, et al. Acylated and Unacylated Ghrelin Promote Proliferation and Inhibit Apoptosis of Pancreatic {beta}-Cells and Human Islets: Involvement of 3',5'-Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate/Protein Kinase A, Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase 1/2, and Phosphatidyl Inositol 3-Kinase/Akt Signaling Endocrinology, February 1, 2007; 148(2): 512 - 529. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
I. Sakata, T. Tanaka, M. Yamazaki, T. Tanizaki, Z. Zheng, and T. Sakai Gastric estrogen directly induces ghrelin expression and production in the rat stomach. J. Endocrinol., September 1, 2006; 190(3): 749 - 757. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Nakahara, M. Nakagawa, Y. Baba, M. Sato, K. Toshinai, Y. Date, M. Nakazato, M. Kojima, M. Miyazato, H. Kaiya, et al. Maternal Ghrelin Plays an Important Role in Rat Fetal Development during Pregnancy Endocrinology, March 1, 2006; 147(3): 1333 - 1342. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Kojima and K. Kangawa Ghrelin: Structure and Function Physiol Rev, April 1, 2005; 85(2): 495 - 522. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G. Rindi, A. Torsello, V. Locatelli, and E. Solcia Ghrelin Expression and Actions: A Novel Peptide for an Old Cell Type of the Diffuse Endocrine System Experimental Biology and Medicine, November 1, 2004; 229(10): 1007 - 1016. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| Endocrinology | Endocrine Reviews | J. Clin. End. & Metab. |
| Molecular Endocrinology | Recent Prog. Horm. Res. | All Endocrine Journals |
