title: Unexpected effect of the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin on ENaC: hunger for sodium?
abstract: The orexigenic hormone ghrelin acts like a hunger signal, released by the stomach in response to nutritional status. However, ghrelin and its receptor in the kidney may play other biological roles. Kemp and colleagues identify that ghrelin stimulates renal Na+ absorption through cAMP-dependent trafficking of ENaC in the cortical collecting duct. While ghrelin seems to be a physiological regulator of ENaC, future studies are necessary to clarify its physiological and pathological roles in sodium homeostasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. georgeseki-tky@umin.ac.jp
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Seki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000502:physiology*; D053503:Epithelial Sodium Channels / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007685:Kidney Tubules, Collecting / Q000502:physiology*; D054440:Receptors, Ghrelin / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D053503:Epithelial Sodium Channels; D054440:Receptors, Ghrelin; D012964:Sodium; D000242:Cyclic AMP