Endocrine Abstracts

Ghrelin, the endogenous ligand of GH secretagogue receptor type 1a, has emerged as pleiotropic modulator of diverse biological functions, including energy homeostasis and recently, reproduction. The effects of i.c.v. administered ghrelin on morphological characteristics of pituitary FSH- and LH-cells were examined in adult male Wistar rats. The animals were randomized in two groups: control and experimental group, each consisted of seven animals, and implanted with an i.c.v. c...

The pandemic increase of obesity, malnutrition and associated comorbidities encouraged intensive studies on energy balance control. Ghrelin is a brain-gut orexigenic hormone that is involved in both the short-term and long-term regulation of energy homeostasis. The aim of this research was to investigate the role of centrally applied ghrelin on the pituitary morphofunctional features and corticosterone secretion in normal-fed, food-restricted and obese 8 weeks old Wistar male ...

The inflammatory response in rat models of obesity and malnutrition was examined. Rats received standard chow (control), chow enriched with 30% lard (obese) or 70, 50, 40 and 40% of expected food intake weekly for 4 weeks (starved). The serum levels of cytokines were determined by ELISA, while the expression of cytokine mRNA in heart and liver was analyzed by real-time RT-PCR. The blood concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF, IL-1) and Th1 cytokine IFN-gamma were si...

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of intracerebroventricular (ICV) injections of ghrelin on secretion of pro-inflammatory (TNF, IL-1, IFN-γ) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (TGF-β) in starved rats. Male Wistar rats (4 weeks old, 12 per group) were fed ad libitum or starved by caloric restriction (40% of chow consumed by their ad libitum fed controls from previous day) for 4 weeks. Afterwards, half of the animals in each group receive...

Ghrelin is a growth hormone secretagogue that plays an important role in appetite and weight regulation. We have previously demonstrated that central ghrelin stimulated pituitary ACTH synthesis and secretion. In this study we further examined the effects of intracerebroventricular (ICV) ad-mi-nistration of ghrelin on zona glomerulosa (ZG), zona fasciculata (ZF) and zona reticularis (ZR) of the adrenal cortex, as well as the blood concentrations of aldosterone, corticosterone a...