Small synthetic molecules called growth hormone secretagogues (GHSs) stimulate the release of growth hormone (GH) from the pituitary. They act through the GHS-R, a G protein-coupled receptor whose ligand has only been discovered recently. Using a reverse pharmacology paradigm with a stable cell line expressing GHS-R, we purified an endogenous ligand for GHS-R from rat stomach and named it "ghrelin," after a word root ("ghre") in Proto-Indo-European languages meaning "grow." Ghrelin is a peptide hormone in which the third amino acid, usually a serine but in some species a threonine, is modified by a fatty acid; this modification is essential for ghrelin's activity. The discovery of ghrelin indicates that the release of GH from the pituitary might be regulated not only by hypothalamic GH-releasing hormone, but also by ghrelin derived from the stomach. In addition, ghrelin stimulates appetite by acting on the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus, a region known to control food intake. Ghrelin is orexigenic; it is secreted from the stomach and circulates in the bloodstream under fasting conditions, indicating that it transmits a hunger signal from the periphery to the central nervous system. Taking into account all these activities, ghrelin plays important roles for maintaining GH release and energy homeostasis in vertebrates.

https://www.physiology.org/doi/pdf/10.1152/physrev.00012.2004

Ghrelin: Structure and Function

Context Epidemiological studies have indicated an inverse association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and coronary heart disease (CHD) or all-cause mortality in healthy participants. Objective To define quantitative relationships between CRF and CHD events, cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, or all-cause mortality in healthy men and women. Data Sources and Study Selection A systematic literature search was conducted for observational cohort studies using MEDLINE (1966 to December 31, 2008) and EMBASE (1980 to December 31, 2008). The Medical Subject Headings search terms used included exercise tolerance, exercise test, exercise/physiology, physical fitness, oxygen consumption, cardiovascular diseases, myocardial ischemia, mortality, mortalities, death, fatality, fatal, incidence, or morbidity. Studies reporting associations of baseline CRF with CHD events, CVD events, or all-cause mortality in healthy participants were included. Data Extraction Two authors independently extracted relevant data. CRF was estimated as maximal aerobic capacity (MAC) expressed in metabolic equivalent (MET) units. Participants were categorized as low CRF ( Data Synthesis Data were obtained from 33 eligible studies (all-cause mortality, 102 980 participants and 6910 cases; CHD/CVD, 84 323 participants and 4485 cases). Pooled RRs of all-cause mortality and CHD/CVD events per 1-MET higher level of MAC (corresponding to 1-km/h higher running/jogging speed) were 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.84-0.90) and 0.85 (95% CI, 0.82-0.88), respectively. Compared with participants with high CRF, those with low CRF had an RR for all-cause mortality of 1.70 (95% CI, 1.51-1.92; P  Conclusions Better CRF was associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality and CHD/CVD. Participants with a MAC of 7.9 METs or more had substantially lower rates of all-cause mortality and CHD/CVD events compared with those with a MAC of less 7.9 METs.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/articlepdf/1108396/jcr90003_2024_2035.pdf

Cardiorespiratory Fitness as a Quantitative Predictor of All-Cause Mortality and Cardiovascular Events in Healthy Men and Women: A Meta-analysis

Background Puberty, a complex biologic process involving sexual development, accelerated linear growth, and adrenal maturation, is initiated when gonadotropin-releasing hormone begins to be secreted by the hypothalamus. We conducted studies in humans and mice to identify the genetic factors that determine the onset of puberty. Methods We used complementary genetic approaches in humans and in mice. A consanguineous family with members who lacked pubertal development (idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism) was examined for mutations in a candidate gene, GPR54, which encodes a G protein–coupled receptor. Functional differences between wild-type and mutant GPR54 were examined in vitro. In parallel, a Gpr54-deficient mouse model was created and phenotyped. Responsiveness to exogenous gonadotropin-releasing hormone was assessed in both the humans and the mice. Results Affected patients in the index pedigree were homozygous for an L148S mutation in GPR54, and an unrelated proband with idiopathic hypogonadotro...

https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa035322

The GPR54 gene as a regulator of puberty

Prolactin is a protein hormone of the anterior pituitary gland that was originally named for its ability to promote lactation in response to the suckling stimulus of hungry young mammals. We now know that prolactin is not as simple as originally described. Indeed, chemically, prolactin appears in a multiplicity of posttranslational forms ranging from size variants to chemical modifications such as phosphorylation or glycosylation. It is not only synthesized in the pituitary gland, as originally described, but also within the central nervous system, the immune system, the uterus and its associated tissues of conception, and even the mammary gland itself. Moreover, its biological actions are not limited solely to reproduction because it has been shown to control a variety of behaviors and even play a role in homeostasis. Prolactin-releasing stimuli not only include the nursing stimulus, but light, audition, olfaction, and stress can serve a stimulatory role. Finally, although it is well known that dopamine of hypothalamic origin provides inhibitory control over the secretion of prolactin, other factors within the brain, pituitary gland, and peripheral organs have been shown to inhibit or stimulate prolactin secretion as well. It is the purpose of this review to provide a comprehensive survey of our current understanding of prolactin's function and its regulation and to expose some of the controversies still existing.

/pdf/prolactin-structure-function-and-regulation-of-secretion-3w4x6fqbg3.pdf

Prolactin: Structure, Function, and Regulation of Secretion

Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism is defined as a deficiency of the pituitary secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone, which results in the impairment of pubertal maturation and of reproductive function. In the absence of pituitary or hypothalamic anatomical lesions and of anosmia (Kallmann syndrome), hypogonadotropic hypogonadism is referred to as isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH). A limited number of IHH cases are due to loss-of-function mutations of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor. To identify additional gene defects leading to IHH, a large consanguineous family with five affected siblings and with a normal gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor coding sequence was studied. Homozygosity whole-genome mapping allowed the localization of a new locus within the short arm of chromosome 19 (19p13). Sequencing of several genes localized within this region showed that all affected siblings of the family carried a homozygous deletion of 155 nucleotides in the GPR54 gene. This deletion encompassed the splicing acceptor site of intron 4-exon 5 junction and part of exon 5. The deletion was absent or present on only one allele in unaffected family members. GPR54 has been initially identified as an orphan G protein-coupled receptor with 40% homology to galanin receptors. Recently, a 54-aa peptide derived from the KiSS1 protein was identified as a ligand of GPR54. The present study shows that loss of function of GPR54 is a cause of IHH, and it identifies GPR54 and possibly KiSS1 protein-derived peptide as playing a major and previously unsuspected role in the physiology of the gonadotropic axis.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/100/19/10972.full.pdf

Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism due to loss of function of the KiSS1-derived peptide receptor GPR54

We characterized the primary structure of alpha A-crystallin from the lens of the human eye by detailed analyses of the amino acid sequence, mass, and stereoisomers, and found the biologically uncommon D- and beta-aspartic acid (Asp) residues in the protein. The stereoconfiguration of the Asp151 and Asp58 residues in alpha A-crystallin from old subjects (mean age: 80 years) was inverted to the D-isomer, and the residues were simultaneously isomerized to beta-aspartyl residues, which may occur via a succinimide intermediate. This is thought to be the first observation of stereoinversion of amino acids in protein in vivo. It is noteworthy that similar stereoinversion was observed in the same residues of alpha A-crystallin from young subjects (age: 11 months), with simultaneous isomerization, although the extent of isomerization was low compared with that in the aged. The conversion may take place in the early life of the lens and the resulting isomers may accumulate with aging. We also found that terminal serine173 was cleaved in aged alpha A-crystallin. Since the cleavage was not observed in young alpha A-crystallin, it may result from the in vivo aging process. The present findings also make it necessary to revise the amino acid sequence of human alpha A-crystallin presented previously: human alpha A-crystallin is composed of 173 (formerly reported as 172) amino acid residues, and the sequence from residues 153 to 155 is THA (formerly reported as -HT).

Simultaneous stereoinversion and isomerization at specific aspartic acid residues in alpha A-crystallin from human lens.

Identification of urotensin II-related peptide as the urotensin II-immunoreactive molecule in the rat brain☆☆☆

The 39- to 43-amino acid amyloid beta-protein (A beta) is deposited as amyloid in Alzheimer's disease. Recent studies have suggested that short A beta (A beta 39 or A beta 40) and long A beta (A beta 42 or A beta 43) play different roles in Alzheimer-type pathology. However, little attempt has been made to investigate the cellular mechanisms underlying the generation of short and long A beta individually. In the present report, we first measured the amount of short and long A beta that are secreted from wild-type human and rodent cells with neuron- or glia-like properties using highly sensitive sandwich-ELISAs that discriminate long A beta from short A beta. The results showed that long A beta secreted by all cells constitutes approximately 10% of the total A beta. To identify the molecular species of long A beta, we next isolated the A beta species secreted from human neuroblastoma IMR-32 cells by affinity chromatography, gel-filtration HPLC, and reverse-phase HPLC. Mass spectrometric analysis demonstrated unequivocally that IMR-32 cells produce A beta 1-42 together with A beta 1-37, A beta 1-38, A beta 1-39, and most predominantly, A beta 1-40. Finally, to investigate the cellular mechanisms that generate A beta 1-42, we studied the effects of brefeldin A and monensin on the production of A beta 1-40 and A beta 1-42 in IMR-32 cells. These reagents reduced the production of both A beta 1-40 and A beta 1-42 simultaneously in a concentration-dependent manner.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Long Amyloid .beta.-Protein Secreted from Wild-Type Human Neuroblastoma IMR-32 Cells

Molecular identification of receptor for pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide

https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/0014-5793%2889%2981808-3

Yoshihiro Ishibashi

Papers

Simultaneous stereoinversion and isomerization at specific aspartic acid residues in alpha A-crystallin from human lens.

Identification of urotensin II-related peptide as the urotensin II-immunoreactive molecule in the rat brain☆☆☆

Long Amyloid .beta.-Protein Secreted from Wild-Type Human Neuroblastoma IMR-32 Cells

Molecular identification of receptor for pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide

Solution conformation of endothelin determined by nuclear magnetic resonance and distance geometry.