Bacterial lipopolysaccharide shifts fasted plasma ghrelin to postprandial levels in rats

• Published in: Neuroscience letters 2003-05, Vol.343 (1), p.25-28
• Main Authors: Basa, Nicole R., Wang, Lixin, Arteaga, James R., Heber, David, Livingston, Edward H., Taché, Yvette
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Body Temperature - drug effects; Circulating ghrelin; Escherichia coli - metabolism; Fasting - physiology; Feeding Behavior - drug effects; Feeding Behavior - physiology; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Food intake; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Ghrelin; Injections; Lipopolysaccharide; Lipopolysaccharides - administration & dosage; Male; Peptide Hormones - blood; Postprandial Period - drug effects; Postprandial Period - physiology; Rat; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Rectal temperature; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
• ISSN: 0304-3940; 1872-7972
• DOI: 10.1016/S0304-3940(03)00312-4

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) is known to decrease food intake. Ghrelin is a peptide hormone produced by the stomach with a potent orexigenic effect and plasma levels that are inversely correlated with the fed state. We examined changes in plasma ghrelin levels 3 h after LPS (100 μg/kg, i.p.) in fasted rats with or without a 1 h re-feeding period. LPS injection decreased the fasting levels of ghrelin by 51±5% compared with preinjection values while i.p. vehicle did not modify ghrelin levels in fasted rats. LPS at this dose reduced fasting-induced food intake by 60% compared with the i.p. vehicle group. Re-feeding decreased plasma ghrelin levels by 58±3% compared with pre-feeding fasting values in i.p. vehicle group. These data provide the first evidence that LPS shifts fasting ghrelin levels to those observed postprandially.