Ghrelin: the link connecting growth with metabolism and energy homeostasis.
Ghrelin: the link connecting growth with metabolism and energy homeostasis.
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DOI:
10.1023/a:1020901624103
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发表时间:
2002-12-01
影响因子:
8.2
通讯作者:
Dieguez, Carlos
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Casanueva, Felipe F;Dieguez, Carlos
Growth hormone (GH) is the sole pituitary hormone that is tightly regulated by the metabolic milieu, and this regulation appears to be superimposed over the classical regulation by peptide hormones [1]. Furthermore, the hypothalamic regulation of the GH secreted by the somatotroph is also peculiar, as it is exerted through the stimulatory action of GH releasing hormone (GHRH) and the inhibitory one of somatostatin. Thus, GH is the only known pituitary hormone regulated by two antagonistic hypothalamic hormones, the others being controlled by just one neurohormone. Peripherally, a liver-derived hormone, IGF-I, the synthesis and plasma levels of which are stimulated in great part by GH, exerts classical negative feedback on GH secretion, inhibiting it by acting both at hypothalamic and pituitary levels. Other peripheral hormones, such as thyroxine, gonadal steroids, glucocorticoids and leptin modulate the exact amount of GH and, in some way, connect the somatotroph status with the overall hormonal balance of the body. Finally, metabolic signals such as glucose, aminoacids, and free fatty acids and their by-products, such as keto-acids, exert a relevant role in the control of GH secretion, food intake is then a regulatory event of somatotroph function [2]. The upshot of this picture is of one hormone whose actions are implicated in a dual action on somatic growth and in the regulation of general metabolism, and which is, in turn, regulated by the energetic homeostasis of the individual. This dual field of action and regulation currently seems to be explained by a newly discovered hormone, ghrelin [3, 4]. Ghrelin may well be the bridge connecting somatic growth and body composition with general metabolism.