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Euglycemic hyperinsulinemia differentially modulates circulating total and acylated-ghrelin in humans

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An Erratum to this article was published on 01 April 2008

Abstract

Ghrelin is a powerful orexigenic gut hormone. Circulating concentrations of total ghrelin are downregulated by food intake in both acute and chronic hyperinsulinemic states. However, in blood des-acylated (des-acyl) ghrelin is the predominant form that has no orexigenic effects in humans. Circulating acyl-ghrelin has been shown to be suppressed post-prandially and by pharmacological hyperinsulinemia. However, up to now responses of circulating acyl-ghrelin to moderate hyperinsulinemic and hyperinsulinemic-hyperlipidemic clamp conditions have not been reported. Fourteen healthy subjects were investigated using two-stepped euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamps (40 mU insulin/m2/min; mean 148±7 min till steady state, followed by 300 min lipid/heparin infusion). Responses of total ghrelin and acyl-ghrelin were measured at timed intervals throughout the clamps. Des-acyl-ghrelin concentrations were calculated by subtraction. Total ghrelin significantly decreased vs baseline concentrations (819±92 vs 564±58 pg/ml, p<0.001), thereby confirming previous observations. Des-acyl ghrelin closely followed total ghrelin concentrations and significantly decreased vs baseline (772±92 vs 517±56 pg/ml, p<0.001). In contrast, neither euglycemic-hyperinsulinemia nor euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic-hyperlipidemia suppressed acyl-ghrelin below baseline concentrations throughout the clamps (46±3 vs 47±8 pg/ml, p=0.90). In conclusion, moderate hyperinsulinemic and hyperinsulinemic-hyperlipidemic clamp conditions differentially modulated circulating total ghrelin and acylghrelin in humans. Factors other than changes in insulin and lipid concentrations are likely to contribute to the previously reported post-prandial reduction of circulating acyl-ghrelin.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Nutrition, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany

    M. O. Weickert MD, C. V. Loeffelholz, A. M. Arafat, C. Schöfl, J. Spranger, M. Möhlig & A. F. H. Pfeiffer

  2. Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, Charité-University-Medicine, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin

    M. O. Weickert MD, C. V. Loeffelholz, A. M. Arafat, C. Schöfl, J. Spranger, M. Möhlig & A. F. H. Pfeiffer

  3. Medical Department-Innenstadt, University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany

    B. Otto

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  1. M. O. Weickert MD
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  2. C. V. Loeffelholz
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  8. A. F. H. Pfeiffer
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Correspondence to M. O. Weickert MD.

Additional information

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF03346380.

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Weickert, M.O., Loeffelholz, C.V., Arafat, A.M. et al. Euglycemic hyperinsulinemia differentially modulates circulating total and acylated-ghrelin in humans. J Endocrinol Invest 31, 119–124 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03345577

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03345577

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