title: Immunocytochemical observation of ghrelin-containing neurons in the rat arcuate nucleus.
abstract: Ghrelin is a novel peptide that stimulates the release of growth hormone from the pituitary and is involved in hypothalamic feeding regulation. A pre-embedding immunostaining technique was used to study the ultrastructure and synaptic relationships of ghrelin-containing neurons in the rat arcuate nucleus (ARC). Ghrelin-like immunoreactive (ghrelin-LI) neurons were found in the ARC, and were especially abundant in its ventral part. At the electron microscopic level, ghrelin-LI neurons received afferent synapses from many unknown axon terminals. Ghrelin-LI products in the immunoreactive cell bodies, processes, and axon terminals were detected mainly in dense granular vesicles about 110 nm in diameter. Ghrelin-LI presynaptic axon terminals often made synapses with unknown immunonegative neurons. These results suggest that ghrelin acts to regulate food intake through synaptic connections in hypothalamic neuronal networks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: J-L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.forename: Q-P
authors.initials: QP
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uehara
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Date
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakazato
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kangawa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shioda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001111:Arcuate Nucleus of Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003712:Dendrites / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology*; D054439:Ghrelin; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015388:Organelles / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036361:Peptide Hormones; D010455:Peptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D017729:Presynaptic Terminals / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013570:Synaptic Membranes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013572:Synaptic Vesicles / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D054439:Ghrelin; D036361:Peptide Hormones; D010455:Peptides