Leontiou Chrysanthia A, Franchi Giulia, Korbonits Márta
Department of Endocrinology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London Medical School, John Vane Science Centre, Charterhouse Square, London, EC1M 6BQ, UK.
Pituitary. 2007;10(3):213-25. doi: 10.1007/s11102-007-0023-0.
Ghrelin is a 28 amino-acid hormone with multiple functions. It is predominantly produced by the stomach but has also been detected in other organs, including the small intestine, pancreas, hypothalamus and pituitary, as well as in the immune system and almost every other normal human tissue examined. It is also present in neuroendocrine tumours, pituitary adenomas, endocrine tumours of the pancreas, breast tumours, and thyroid and medullary thyroid carcinomas. Ghrelin is a brain-gut peptide with growth hormone-releasing and appetite-inducing activities, and is the endogenous ligand of the G protein-coupled growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R). In this review we comprehensively summarize the available data regarding (a) the expression of ghrelin and the GHS-R in normal endocrine tissues and in pituitary adenomas and neuroendocrine tumours, (b) the levels of circulating ghrelin in patients with pituitary adenomas and neuroendocrine tumours and (c) the effects of ghrelin administration in these patients on the levels of other hormones and on the rate of proliferation of the tumour. It is clear that ghrelin has many more functions and is involved in many more processes than was initially postulated, and its endocrine, paracrine and autocrine effects play a role in its physiological and pathophysiological functions.
胃饥饿素是一种具有多种功能的含28个氨基酸的激素。它主要由胃产生，但在其他器官中也有检测到，包括小肠、胰腺、下丘脑和垂体，以及免疫系统和几乎所有其他被检查的正常人体组织。它也存在于神经内分泌肿瘤、垂体腺瘤、胰腺内分泌肿瘤、乳腺肿瘤以及甲状腺癌和甲状腺髓样癌中。胃饥饿素是一种具有生长激素释放和诱导食欲活性的脑肠肽，是G蛋白偶联生长激素促分泌素受体（GHS-R）的内源性配体。在本综述中，我们全面总结了关于以下方面的现有数据：（a）胃饥饿素和GHS-R在正常内分泌组织、垂体腺瘤和神经内分泌肿瘤中的表达；（b）垂体腺瘤和神经内分泌肿瘤患者循环胃饥饿素水平；（c）给这些患者注射胃饥饿素对其他激素水平和肿瘤增殖率的影响。显然，胃饥饿素具有比最初假设更多的功能，并且参与了更多的过程，其内分泌、旁分泌和自分泌作用在其生理和病理生理功能中发挥作用。
