Abstract
It has recently been shown that ghrelin is a pleitropic modulator with effects on diverse biological functions, such as energy homeostasis and reproduction. In this study, ghrelin levels and its relationship between metabolic and biochemical parameters were investigated in male subjects with idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH). Patients in the study were composed of 33 men with IHH, and controls were composed of 36 healthy age-matched men. The patients’ group had significantly higher waist/hip ratio (WHR), and lower testis volume, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimuling hormone (FSH) and total testosterone (TT) levels when compared with controls. Plasma total ghrelin levels were significantly lower in patients than in controls (96.4 ± 29.1 ng/ml vs. 146.1 ± 28.9 ng/ml, P < 0.001, respectively). No correlation of ghrelin was found with body mass index, waist/hip ratio, homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance index, testis volume, LH, FSH and TT levels in both patients and controls. The present study showed that ghrelin levels were significantly lower in men with IHH than in controls. However, further studies are needed to better understand the relationships between ghrelin, and metabolic and reproductive systems.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
A.F. Leite-Moreira, J.B. Soares, Physiological, pathological and potential therapeutic roles of ghrelin. Drug Discov. Today 12, 276–288 (2007)
D.W. Miller, J.L. Harrison, Y.A. Brown, U. Doyle, A. Lindsay, C.L. Adam et al., Immunohistochemical evidence for an endocrine/paracrine role for ghrelin in the reproductive tissues of sheep. Reprod. Biol. Endocrinol. 3, 60 (2005)
M. Furuta, T. Funabashi, F. Kimura, Intracerebroventricular administration of ghrelin rapidly supresses pulsatile luteinizing hormon secretion in ovariectomized rats. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 288, 780–785 (2001)
R. Fernandez-Fernandez, M. Tena-Sempere, E. Aguilar, L. Pinilla, Ghrelin effects on gonadotropin secretion in male and female rats. Neurosci. Lett. 362, 1037 (2004)
N.R. Vulliémoz, E. Xiao, L. Xia-Zhang, M. Germond, J. Rivier, M. Ferin, Decrease in luteinizing hormone pulse frequency during a five-hour peripheral ghrelin infusion in the overectomized rhesus monkey. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 89, 5718–5723 (2004)
J. Iqbal, Y. Kurose, B. Canny, I.J. Clarke, Effects on central infusion of ghrelin on food intake, and plasma levels of growth hormone, luteinizing hormone, prolactin and cortisol secretion in sheep. Endocrinology 147, 510–519 (2006)
R. Fernandez-Fernandez, M. Tena-Sempere, V.M. Navarro, M.L. Barreiro, J.M. Castellano, E. Aguilar et al., Effects of ghrelin upon gonadotropin-releasing hormone and gonadotropin secretion in adult female rats: In vivo and in vitro studies. Neuroendocrinology 82, 245–255 (2005)
A.C. Martini, R. Fernandez-Fernandez, S. Tovar, V.M. Navarro, E. Vigo, M.J. Vazquez et al., Comparative analysis of the effects of ghrelin and unacylated ghrelin on luteinizing hormone secretion in male rats. Endocrinology 147, 2374–2382 (2006)
S. Unniappan, Peter RE: In vitro and in vivo effects of ghrelin on luteinizing hormone and growth hormone release in goldfish. Am. J. Physiol. Regul. Integr. Comp. Physiol. 286, R1093–R1101 (2004)
R. Fernandez-Fernandez, V.M. Navarro, M.L. Barreiro, E.M. Vigo, S. Tovar, A.V. Sirotkin et al., Effects of chronic hyperghrelinemia on puberty onset and pregnancy outcome in rat. Endocrinology 146, 3018–3025 (2005)
M. Tena-Sempere, M.L. Barreiro, L.C. Gonzalez, F. Gaytan, F.P. Zhang, J.E. Caminos et al., Novel expression and functional role of ghrelin in rat testis. Endocrinology 143, 717–725 (2002)
U. Pagotta, A. Gambineri, C. Pelusi, S. Genghini, M. Cacciari, B. Otto et al., Testosterone replacement therapy restores normal ghrelin in hypogonadal men. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 88, 4139–4143 (2003)
L.C. Layman, Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. Endocrinol. Metab. Clin. North Am. 36, 283–296 (2007)
A.D. Howard, S.D. Feighner, D.F. Cully, J.P. Arena, P.A. Liberator, C.I. Rosenblum et al., A receptor in pituitary and hypothalamus that functions in growth hormone release. Science 273, 9747 (1996)
M.C. Garcia, M. Lopez, C.V. Alvarez, F. Casanueva, M. Tena-Sempere, C. Dieguez, Role of ghrelin in reproduction. Reproduction 133, 531–540 (2007)
J.E. Caminos, M. Tena-Sempere, F. Gaytan, J.E. Sanchez-Criado, M.L. Barreiro, R. Nogueiras et al., Expression of ghrelin in the cyclic and pregnant rat ovary. Endocrinology 144, 1594–1602 (2003)
M.L. Barreiro, F. Gaytan, J.E. Caminos, L. Pinilla, F.F. Casanueva, E. Aguilar et al., Cellular location and hormonal regulation of ghrelin expression in rat testis. Biol. Reprod. 67, 1768–1776 (2002)
M.L. Barreiro, J.S. Suominen, F. Gaytan, L. Pinilla, L.K. Chopin, F.F. Casanueva et al., Developmental, stage-specific, and hormonally regulated expression of growth hormone secretogogue receptor Messenger RNA in rat testis. Biol. Reprod. 68, 1631–1640 (2003)
F. Gaytan, M.L. Barreiro, J.E. Caminos, L.K. Chopin, A.C. Herington, C. Morales et al., Expression of ghrelin and its functional recepor, type 1a growth hormone secretogogue receptor, in normal human testis and testicular tumors. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 89, 400–409 (2004)
M.L. Barreiro, F. Gaytan, J.M. Castellano, J.S. Suominen, J. Roa, M. Gaytan et al., Ghrelin inhibits the proliferative activity of immature Leydig cells in vivo and regulates stem cell factor messenger ribonucleic acid expression in rat testis. Endocrinology 11, 4825–4834 (2004)
M. Tschöp, C. Weyer, P.A. Tataranni, V. Devenerayan, E. Ravussin, M.L. Heiman, Circulating ghrelin levels are decreased in human obesity. Diabetes 50, 7079 (2001)
A.M. Haqq, I.S. Farooqi, S. O’Rahilly, D.D. Stadler, R.G. Rosenfeld, K.L. Pratt et al., Serum ghrelin levels are inversely correlated with body mass index, age, and insulin concentrations in normal children and are markedly increased in Prader-Willi syndrome. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 88, 174–178 (2003)
D.E. Cummings, Ghrelin and short- and long-term regulation of appetite and body weight. Physiol. Behav. 89, 71–84 (2006)
A. Salehi, C. Dornonville de la Cour, R. Hakanson, I. Lundquist, Effect of ghrelin on insulin and glucagon secretion: A study of isolated pancreatic islet and intact mice. Regul. Pept. 8, 143–150 (2004)
C. Gauna, P.J. Delhanty, L.J. Hofland, J.A. Janssen, F. Broglio, R.J. Ross et al., Ghrelin stimulates, whereas des-octanoyl ghrelin inhibits, glucose output by primary hepatocytes. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 90, 1055–1060 (2005)
V. Ott, M. Fasshauer, A. Dalski, B. Meier, N. Perwitz, H.H. Klein et al., Direct peripheral effects of ghrelin include suppression of adiponectin expression. Horm. Metab. Res. 34, 640–645 (2002)
M.M. Malagon, R.M. Luque, E. Ruiz-Guerrero, F. Rodriguez-Pacheco, S. Garcia-Navarro, F.F. Casanueva et al., Intracellular signaling mechanisms mediating ghrelin-stimulated growth hormone release in somatotropes. Endocrinology 144, 5372–5380 (2003)
S.M. Pöykkö, E. Kellokoski, S. Hörkkö, H. Kauma, Y.A. Kesaniemi, O. Ukkola, Low plasma ghrelin is associated with insulin resistance, hypertension, and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes 52, 2546–2553 (2003)
U. Mager, V. Lindi, J. Lindström, J.G. Eriksson, T.T. Valle, H. Hamalainen et al., Association of the Leu72Met polymorphism of the ghrelin gene with the risk o Type 2 diabetes in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance in the Finnish diabetes prevention study. Diabet. Med. 23, 685–689 (2006)
O. Ukkola, S.M. Pöykkö, Y. Antero Kesaniemi, Low plasma ghrelin consentration is an indicator of the metabolic syndrome. Ann. Med. 38, 274–279 (2006)
D.E. Flanagan, M.L. Eyans, T.P. Mondsod, F. Rife, R.A. Heptulla, W.V. Tamborlane et al., The influence of insulin on circulating ghrelin. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 284, 313–316 (2003)
Acknowledgements
We thank Ilker Ercan (Assoc. Prof. of Uludag University, Bursa, Department of Biostatistics) for his valuable assistance for statistical analysis and Numan Duran for language editing.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Duran, C., Yonem, A., Ustun, I. et al. Plasma ghrelin levels in males with idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. Endocr 34, 81–86 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-008-9102-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-008-9102-x