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Ghrelin's Role In Food Intake

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Describe the role of ghrelin in food intake regulation and its involvement in development of obesity.
Ghrelin is initially synthesized as a pre-prohormone comprised of 117 amino acids. Cleavage of preproghrelin results in two mature ghrelin molecules. Ghrelin is a 28-amino acid peptide that is secreted primarily from the X/A-like cells of the stomach. Ghrelin is found in blood circulation in two forms, both des-acl (dAG) and acyl forms (AG). Ghrelin is stimulator of growth hormone (GH) secretion and the only circulatory hormone known to significantly enhance feeding, increase body mass and to regulate energy homeostasis central systemic administration (Castañeda et al., 2010; Scerif, Goldstone and Korbonits, 2011; Heppner and Tong, 2014). …show more content…

Cummings et al, cited in Gil-Campos et al (2006) stated that due to these levels of concentration they could play a major role in meal initiation, though the link in rise in circulating plasma-ghrelin levels has not yet been proven (Gil-Campos et al., 2006). Studies have shown that serum ghrelin levels are inversely correlated with BMI, age and insulin concentrations in normal children; whereas they correlate positively with leptin (Park et al. 2005, as cited in Gil-Campos et al.,

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