Effective control of body weight and energy homeostasis requires stringent regulation of caloric intake and energy expenditure. Gut-brain interactions comprise a central axis for the control of energy homeostasis by integrating the intake of nutrients with an effective utilization of ingested calories either by storage or by expenditure as cellular fuel. Ghrelin, a stomach-derived peptide, is t...

BACKGROUND Ghrelin is a hormone produced mainly by the cells lining the fundus of the stomach, which is involved in regulation of lipid and glucose metabolism. Two major forms of ghrelin can be found in circulation: an acylated form, and non-acylated form. Serum acyl-ghrelin (AG) concentration is significantly increased in patients with visceral obesity and insulin resistance. This study was co...

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is emerging as a metabolic epidemic worldwide. Pathologically, dysregulation of many biological pathways precedes hyperglycemia and the clinical diagnosis of T2DM. Changing trajectories along the process of T2DM development necessitates frequent measurement of biomarkers for early identification of at-risk individuals and successful prevention. Increase in circul...

BACKGROUND Non-histone protein acylation is increasingly recognized as an important posttranslational modification, but little is known as to the biochemical properties of protein serine acylating enzymes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We here report that we have identified a metal-stimulated serine octanoyltransferase activity in microsomes from human erythroleukemic (HEL) cells. The HEL ac...

BACKGROUND Ghrelin is a 28 amino acid peptide hormone that is expressed in the stomach and a range of peripheral tissues, where it frequently acts as an autocrine/paracrine growth factor. Ghrelin is modified by a unique acylation required for it to activate its cognate receptor, the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR), which mediates many of the actions of ghrelin. Recently, the enzyme ...

Vila et al. (1) reported that brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) infusions reduce total and acylated-ghrelin levels while increasing satiety. Since ghrelin acts orexigenic, the authors conclude that BNP might indirectly regulate food intake in conditions associated with excessive BNP levels, such as in heart failure. The hypothesis is provocative but ignores the complex metabolic actions of natriu...

Ghrelin is a hormone synthesized by the stomach that acts in different tissues via a specific receptor (GHS-R1a), including hypothalamus and adipose tissue. For instance, recent reports have shown that ghrelin has a direct action on hypothalamic regulation of food intake mainly inducing an orexigenic effect. On the other hand, ghrelin also modulates energy stores and expenditure in the adipocyt...

Ghrelin is the only known hormone posttranslationally modified with an acylation. This modification is crucial for most of ghrelin's physiological effects and is catalyzed by the polytopic enzyme ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT). The aim of this study was to characterize GOAT in a teleost model, goldfish (Carassius auratus). First, the full-length cDNA sequence was obtained by RT-PCR and rapid ...