title: Growth hormone releasing peptide-2 (GHRP-2), like ghrelin, increases food intake in healthy men.
abstract: GHRP-2 is a synthetic agonist of ghrelin, the newly-discovered gut peptide which binds to the growth hormone (GH) secretagogue receptor. Ghrelin has two major effects, stimulating both GH secretion and appetite/meal initiation. GHRP-2 has been extensively studied for its utility as a growth hormone secretagogue (GHS). Animal studies have shown its effect on food intake. However, whether GHRP-2 can also stimulate appetite in humans when administered acutely is not known. We subcutaneously infused 7 lean, healthy males with GHRP-2 (1 microg/kg/h) or saline for 270 minutes and then measured their intake of an ad libitum, buffet-style meal. Similar to what has been reported for ghrelin administration, our subjects ate 35.9 +/- 10.9% more when infused with GHRP-2 vs. saline, with every subject increasing their intake even when calculated per kg body weight (136.0 +/- 13.0 kJ/kg [32.5 +/- 3.1 kcal/kg] vs. 101.3 +/- 10.5 kJ/kg [24.2 +/- 2.5 kcal/kg], p = 0.008). The macronutrient composition of consumed food was not different between conditions. As expected, serum GH levels rose significantly during GHRP-2 infusion (AUC 5550 +/- 1090 microg/L/240 min vs. 412 +/- 161 microg/L/240 min, p = 0.003). These data are the first to demonstrate that GHRP-2, like ghrelin, increases food intake, suggesting that GHRP-2 is a valuable tool for investigating ghrelin effects on eating behavior in humans.
authors.affiliation: Obesity Research Center, St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, New York 10025, USA.
authors.forename: Blandine
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Laferrère
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Abraham
authors.forename: Colleen D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.forename: Cyril Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Bowers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001066:Appetite / Q000187:drug effects*; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000187:drug effects; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D054439:Ghrelin; D013007:Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D036361:Peptide Hormones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010919:Placebos; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D054439:Ghrelin; D009842:Oligopeptides; D036361:Peptide Hormones; D010919:Placebos; D019382:Human Growth Hormone; D013007:Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone; C091874:growth hormone-releasing peptide-2