Central Effects of Ghrelin, a Unique Peptide, on Appetite and Fluid/Water Drinking Behavior

Title: Central Effects of Ghrelin, a Unique Peptide, on Appetite and Fluid/Water Drinking Behavior

Volume: 12 Issue: 4

Author(s): Hirofumi Hashimoto and Yoichi Ueta

Affiliation:

Keywords: Angiotensin II, feeding, hypothalamus, intracerebroventricular, neuroendocrine, pituitary, polyethylene glycol, fluid/ water intake, ghrelin, peptide, drinking behaviour, stomach-derived peptide, Angiotensin II

Abstract: Ghrelin is a stomach-derived peptide discovered as a ligand of the orphan G-protein coupled receptor. Ghrelin is now recognized as a major orexigenic neuropeptide. Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that centrally administered ghrelin induced c-fos protein expression in many areas in the brain. Indeed, centrally administered ghrelin has various effects such as stimulating feeding, arousal, increasing gastric acid secretion, release of hormones from the pituitary, and inhibition of water intake. In particular, we recently showed that ghrelin was an antidipsogenic peptide with a simultaneous orexigenic effect. This may be of important, because most spontaneous daily water intake is temporally associated with feeding. Here, we summarise recent findings on the integration of central effects of ghrelin that regulate feeding, release hormones from the pituitary and inhibit fluid/water intake.

Cite this article as:

Hashimoto Hirofumi and Ueta Yoichi, Central Effects of Ghrelin, a Unique Peptide, on Appetite and Fluid/Water Drinking Behavior, Current Protein & Peptide Science 2011; 12 (4) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138920311795906727