What’s Ghrelin?

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Ghrelin is a hormone created by P/D1 cells, which are found in the stomach lining. It is also found in smaller quantities in the pituitary gland, hypothalamus, kidneys and placenta. Also, it is created by a small number of neurons located in the arcuate nucleus.
This hormone is known to encourage the secretion of growth hormones from the anterior pituitary gland. This is because the anterior pituitary gland contains special ghrelin receptors, which were discovered before the hormone itself existed. For this reason, the ghrelin receptor is also referred to as the growth hormone secretagore receptor (GHS-R). In addition to the anterior pituitary gland, receptors are also found in the heart, hypothalamus and adipose tissue.

Ghrelin is also responsible for stimulating appetite and has been found to increase appetite before eating and decrease it after. In laboratory tests, humans injected with it reported increased hunger. Additionally, research appears to show that ghrelin suppresses fat utilization in adipose tissue. Essentially, the hormone appears to be at least partially responsible for letting the body know when it’s hungry and keeping it informed about the energy balance of the brain and body.

In the gastrointestinal system, ghrelin stimulates emptying of the gastric system. It also appears to positively affect the function of the cardiovascular system in a variety of ways, such as by increasing cardiac output. Research is still unclear, however, whether it provides these positive effects by itself or whether they are due to ghrelin-stimulated growth hormone secretion.

This hormone also has an effect on brain function. It appears to play an important role in neurotrophy, especially regarding the hippocampus. Additionally, ghrelin is important in helping the brain make cognitive adaptations and other changes in response to the environment. Therefore, it is central to the learning process.

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