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Experimental Biology and Medicine 229:1007-1016 (2004)
© 2004 Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine

MINIREVIEW

Ghrelin Expression and Actions: A Novel Peptide for an Old Cell Type of the Diffuse Endocrine System

Guido Rindi*,1, Antonio Torsello{dagger}, Vittorio Locatelli{dagger} and Enrico Solcia{ddagger}

* Department of Pathology, University of Parma, Parma, Italy; {dagger} Department of Experimental and Environmental Medicine and Biotechnology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy; and {ddagger} Research Direction, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, and Department of Pathology, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.

To whom requests for reprints should be addressed at 1 Dipartimento di Patologia Umana e Medicina di Laboratorio, Sezione di Anatomia Patologica, Università di Parma, Via Gramsci, 14, I-43100 Parma, Italy. E-mail: guido.rindi{at}unipr.it

Ghrelin is a gastric peptide involved in food intake control and growth hormone release. Its cell localization has been defined in distinct ghrelin cells of the gastric mucosa in humans and other mammals. Ghrelin production was also described in a number of other sites of the diffuse endocrine system, including the pituitary, thyroid, lung, pancreas, adrenal gland, and intestine. In addition, ghrelin cells were identified early during fetal life and in the placenta and gonads. Finally, endocrine growths and tumors of the diffuse endocrine system may present ghrelin-producing cells, and in a few cases high levels of circulating ghrelin were reported. Besides its well-defined orexigenic role, ghrelin is likely to exert a local paracrine role similar to other brain-gut axis hormones. This review aims to summarize recent data on ghrelin cell distribution in the diffuse endocrine system and discuss local and general ghrelin function during development, adulthood, and endocrine tumor development.

Key Words: ghrelin • growth hormone secretagogue • diffuse endocrine system • stomach • electron microscopy • P/D1




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