Evidence that growth hormone exerts a feedback effect on stomach ghrelin production and secretion

Xiang Qi, Jason Reed, Ella W. Englander, Varadaraj Chandrashekar, Andrzej Bartke, George H. Greeley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

58 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ghrelin is a recently discovered stomach hormone that stimulates pituitary growth hormone (GH) secretion potently. The purpose of these experiments was to test the hypothesis that a stomach-ghrelin-pituitary-GH axis exists in which either an elevation or reduction in systemic GH levels will exert a negative or positive feedback action, respectively, on stomach ghrelin homeostasis. In rats, GH administration decreased stomach ghrelin mRNA levels and plasma ghrelin levels significantly. In GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) transgenic mice, GHRH overexpression decreased stomach ghrelin peptide levels when compared wlth control mice. In aged rats (25 months) stomach ghrelin mRNA and peptide levels and plasma ghrelin levels were decreased when compared with young rats (5 months). Because GH secretion is reduced in aged rats, the elevated stomach ghrelin production and secretion may reflect a decreased GH feedback on stomach ghrelin, homeostasis, and secretion. Together, these findings suggest that endogenous pituitary GH exerts a feedback action on stomach ghrelin homeostasis and support the hypothesls that a stomach-ghrelin-pituitary GH axis exists.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1028-1032
Number of pages5
JournalExperimental Biology and Medicine
Volume228
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2003
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Mouse
  • Pituitary
  • Rat

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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