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Submitted on January 19, 2004
Accepted on May 5, 2004
Endocrinology and Diabetes Unit, British Columbia's Children's Hospital, University of British Columbia, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver BC V6H 3V4, Canada
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jchanoine{at}cw.bc.ca.
Ghrelin is an orexigenic peptide secreted mainly by the stomach in adult rats. Ghrelin concentrations increase with fasting and decrease following food intake. Ghrelin is also present in the placenta and in the fetal stomach but the role of fetal ghrelin remains unclear. In this study, we compared changes in plasma ghrelin, insulin and glucose concentrations and in ghrelin gene expression in stomach, pancreas and placenta in response to fasting and feeding in adult non-pregnant rats and in 20-day pregnant dams and their fetuses. Plasma total ghrelin concentrations were 3 times higher in the fetus than in the dam but did not increase in response to fasting. In contrast to total ghrelin, plasma active ghrelin concentrations were 50% lower in the fetus compared with the adult pregnant rat. Ghrelin mRNA and total ghrelin were markedly elevated in the fetal pancreas and 6-7 times greater than in the fetal stomach but were not affected by fasting. In contrast, fetal pancreas and stomach active ghrelin concentrations increased 2-3 times following maternal fasting. Ghrelin receptor mRNA was present in all fetal pancreas samples. Placenta ghrelin gene expression was detectable but low. These data raise the possibility that in the fetus, in contrast to the adult, the pancreas and not the stomach is a major source of circulating immunoreactive ghrelin. Furthermore, the presence of a strong ghrelin gene expression and of ghrelin receptor mRNA in the fetal pancreas is intriguing and suggests that ghrelin may play an important role in 
-cell development.
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