Despite being unable to activate the cognate ghrelin receptor (GHS-R), unacylated ghrelin (UAG) possesses a unique activity spectrum that includes promoting bone marrow adipogenesis. Since a receptor mediating this action has not been identified, we re-appraised the potential interaction of UAG with GHS-R in the regulation of bone marrow adiposity. Surprisingly, the adipogenic effects of intra-...

BACKGROUND Ghrelin has a protective effect on endothelial cells. Endothelial cell dysfunction is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and CVD remains the leading cause of morbidity in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Acylated ghrelin (A-Ghr) is the functional form of ghrelin, so we hypothesized that A-Ghr is associated with the occurrence of CVD in HD patients. METHODS We conducted a prosp...

Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), a plasma enzyme that hydrolyses the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine relatively well, with far lower efficiency than acetylcholinesterase (AChE) but with the capability to degrade a broad range of bioactive esters. AChE is universally understood as essential to cholinergic neurotransmission, voluntary muscle performance, and cognition, among other roles, and its cat...

The correct identification of circulating molecular forms and measurement of peptide levels in blood entails that the endocrine peptide being studied is stable and recovered in good yields during blood processing. However, it is not clear whether this is achieved in studies using standard blood processing. Therefore, we compared peptide concentration and form of 12 (125)I-labeled peptides using...

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OBJECTIVE Ghrelin is produced by the stomach, hypothalamus and pituitary. It circulates as acylated ghrelin (AG, which stimulates growth hormone (GH) secretion) and unacylated ghrelin (UAG). Acylation is mediated by the enzyme ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT). In mice, pregnancy is associated with a marked increase in circulating pituitary GH. We investigated the role of AG and UAG in the surge...

OBJECTIVE Chronic inflammatory diseases are associated with altered body composition. Ghrelin has anti-inflammatory effects, and its level is altered in obesity and inflammatory diseases. The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of obesity and ghrelin and obestatin levels in patients with Behçet's disease (BD). MATERIAL AND METHODS One hundred and forty-three (143) patients with BD...