title: Ghrelin attenuates collagen production in lesional fibroblasts from patients with systemic sclerosis.
abstract: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disease characterized by thickening of the skin and tissue fibrosis of the internal organs. Ghrelin is primarily described as a gut hormone, and many studies currently indicate that ghrelin has protective effects in different organs, including the heart, pancreas, lung and liver, resulting from its anti-fibrotic properties. We found decreased levels of ghrelin in the plasma from patients with SSc compared with those from healthy controls. In skin fibroblast cultures, recombinant ghrelin diminished the production of collagen type I. In addition, the mRNA levels of COL1A2 and TGFB genes were significantly decreased by the stimulation of ghrelin. We showed that ghrelin may exert anti-fibrotic effects in the skin fibroblasts from patients with SSc. Because the plasma levels of ghrelin are low in SSc, the administration of ghrelin could be a new strategy for the treatment of SSc.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Rheumatology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 10-22 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0054 Japan.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ota
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawaguchi
authors.forename: Kae
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takagi
authors.forename: Hisae
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ichida
authors.forename: Takahisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gono
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hanaoka
authors.forename: Tomoaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Higuchi
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamanaka
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D024042:Collagen Type I / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D054439:Ghrelin / Q000097:blood* / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D054440:Receptors, Ghrelin / Q000378:metabolism; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000235:genetics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D024042:Collagen Type I; D054439:Ghrelin; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D054440:Receptors, Ghrelin; C508960:TGFB1 protein, human; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1