Obestatin plays an opposite role in the regulation of pituitary somatotrope and corticotrope function in female primates and male/female mice.

ABSTRACT: Obestatin is a 23-amino-acid amidated peptide that is encoded by the ghrelin gene. Previous studies have shown obestatin can modulate the hypothalamic neuronal circuitry that regulates pituitary function, perhaps by modulating the actions of ghrelin. However, the direct actions of obestatin on pituitary function remain controversial. Here, primary pituitary cell cultures from a nonhuman primate (baboon) and mice were used to test the effects of obestatin on pituitary hormone expression and secretion. In pituitary cultures from both species, obestatin had no effect on prolactin, LH, FSH, or TSH expression/release. Conversely, obestatin stimulated proopiomelanocortin expression and ACTH release and inhibited GH expression/release in vitro, actions that were also observed in vivo in mice trea

SUBMITTER: Luque RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3959609 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature