Plasma Ghrelin Levels in
Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease
Z. JARKOVSKÁ, M. ROSICKÁ, M. KRŠEK, S. SULKOVÁ1,
M. HALUZÍK,
V. JUSTOVÁ, Z. LACINOVÁ, J. MAREK
Third Department of Medicine and 1Department of
Medicine at Strahov, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles
University, Prague, Czech Republic
Received October 10, 2003
Accepted September 15, 2004
On-line available December 9, 2004
Summary
Ghrelin is an acylated peptide stimulating secretion of the
growth hormone (GH). It was originally isolated from the rat
stomach as an endogenous ligand for the growth hormone
secretagogue receptor. Although being predominantly produced by
endocrine cells of the gastric fundus, its secretion has been
found in various tissues including the kidney. To study the
influence of renal failure on plasma ghrelin levels we examined
16 patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) receiving
hemodialysis (8 men and 8 women) and 19 controls (10 men and 9
women). Both groups were comparable in age and BMI. In all
subjects we assessed plasma levels of ghrelin, leptin, soluble
leptin receptor, insulin, IGF-I, IGFBP-1, IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-6.
Ghrelin levels were significantly higher in the group of
dialyzed patients (4.49±0.74 vs. 1.79±0.15 ng/ml; p<0.001).
These patients had significantly higher levels of GH, IGFBP-1,
IGFBP-6, leptin and percentage of body fat (p<0.05). In the
group of patients with ESRD plasma ghrelin levels positively
correlated with IGFBP-1 (p<0.01). In the control group, ghrelin
positively correlated with GH concentrations (p<0.01) and
negatively correlated with the levels of insulin and creatinine
(p<0.05). In conclusion, patients with ESRD have higher ghrelin
concentrations, which might be caused by a decreased
excretion/metabolism of ghrelin in the kidney during renal
failure.
Key words
Ghrelin • Leptin • Soluble leptin receptor • End-stage renal
disease
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