Ghrelin increases the rewarding value of high-fat diet in an orexin-dependent manner.
BACKGROUND
Ghrelin is a potent orexigenic hormone that likely impacts eating via several mechanisms. Here, we hypothesized that ghrelin can regulate extra homeostatic, hedonic aspects of eating behavior.


METHODS
In the current study, we assessed the effects of different pharmacological, physiological, and genetic models of increased ghrelin and/or ghrelin-signaling blockade on two classic behavioral tests of reward behavior: conditioned place preference (CPP) and operant conditioning.


RESULTS
Using both CPP and operant conditioning, we found that ghrelin enhanced the rewarding value of high-fat diet (HFD) when administered to ad lib-fed mice. Conversely, wild-type mice treated with ghrelin receptor antagonist and ghrelin receptor-null mice both failed to show CPP to HFD normally observed under calorie restriction. Interestingly, neither pharmacologic nor genetic blockade of ghrelin signaling inhibited the body weight homeostasis-related, compensatory hyperphagia associated with chronic calorie restriction. Also, ghrelin's effects on HFD reward were blocked in orexin-deficient mice and wild-type mice treated with an orexin 1 receptor antagonist.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results demonstrate an obligatory role for ghrelin in certain rewarding aspects of eating that is separate from eating associated with body weight homeostasis and that requires the presence of intact orexin signaling.
Perello
Mario
M
Department of Internal Medicine (Division of Hypothalamic Research), The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-9077, USA.
Sakata
Ichiro
I
Birnbaum
Shari
S
Chuang
Jen-Chieh
JC
Osborne-Lawrence
Sherri
S
Rovinsky
Sherry A
SA
Woloszyn
Jakub
J
Yanagisawa
Masashi
M
Lutter
Michael
M
Zigman
Jeffrey M
JM
D000818:Animals; D001583:Benzoxazoles / Q000494:pharmacology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D054439:Ghrelin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000172:deficiency / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009287:Naphthyridines; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000172:deficiency / Q000378:metabolism*; D000068797:Orexins; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism; D054440:Receptors, Ghrelin / Q000172:deficiency; D012201:Reward; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D014508:Urea / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology
C420062:1-(2-methylbenzoxazol-6-yl)-3-(1,5)naphthyridin-4-yl urea; D001583:Benzoxazoles; D004041:Dietary Fats; D054439:Ghrelin; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D009287:Naphthyridines; D009479:Neuropeptides; D000068797:Orexins; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D054440:Receptors, Ghrelin; D014508:Urea