Obestrin® Foundation by ITCES Corporation

2010 Relevant Studies – Unit 4

Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Xue Bao. 2010 May;8(5):480-5.
[Effects of electro-acupuncture on expression of obestatin in hypothalamus of rats with simple obesity.]
Kong XJ, Gao L, Peng H, Shi X.
Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, General Hospital of People’s Liberation Army, Beijing 100853
Objective: To investigate the effects of electro-acupuncture on obestatin in rat with simple obesity. Methods:
Obesity was induced in male SD rats with high-fat and -glucose diet for 10 weeks. Twenty-four rats with obesity
were randomly divided into untreated group and electro-acupuncture group, with 12 rats in each group. Another 12
normal SD rats serving as controls were fed standard rat chow. Rats in the electro-acupuncture group were treated
with electro-acupuncture on bilateral Zusanli (ST36), Tianshu (ST25) and Pishu (BL20) acupoints for fifteen
days consecutively. Rats in the blank control group and untreated group were not interfered. Body weight was
measured every 3 days during treatment. After treatment, obestatin in serum and hypothalamus was detected by
radioimmunoassay or immunohistochemiscal method respectively. Visceral fat weight was also detected. Results:
Body weight and visceral fat weight of rats in the untreated group were significantly higher than those in the blank
control group (P<0.01). Body weight and increase of body weight in the electro-acupuncture group were
significantly lower than those in the untreated group (P<0.01). Visceral fat weight in the electro-acupuncture group
was significantly lower than that in the untreated group (P<0.01), but there was no significant difference as
compared with the blank control group. The obestatin expression in hypothalamus was higher in the untreated group
than in the blank control group (P<0.05), while it was lower in the untreated group than in the electro-acupuncture
group (P<0.01). Conclusion: Electro-acupuncture has an effect against obesity in rats, which may be related to up-
regulating obestatin expression in hypothalamus. PMID: 20456848

J Neuroendocrinol. 2010 May 6.

The ghrelin/obestatin balance in the physiological and pathological control of GH secretion, body composition and
food intake.
Hassouna R, Zizzari P, Tolle V.
UMR894 INSERM, Centre de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences, Université Paris Descartes, 2 ter rue d’Alésia, 75014
Abstract Ghrelin and obestatin are two gastrointestinal peptides obtained by post-translational processing of a
common precursor, preproghrelin. Ghrelin is an orexigenic and adipogenic peptide and a potent Growth Hormone
Secretagogue (GHS) modified by the enzyme Ghrelin-O-Acyl-Transferase (GOAT) to bind and activate its
receptor, the GHS-R. The ghrelin/GHS-R pathway is complex and the effects of ghrelin on GH secretion, adiposity
and food intake seem to be relayed by distinct mechanisms involving different transduction signals for the GHS-R
and constitutive activity, different cofactors as modulators of endogenous ghrelin signalling and/or alternative
ghrelin receptors. The discovery of obestatin in 2005 brought an additional level of complexity to this fascinating
system. Obestatin was initially identified as an anorexigenic peptide and as the cognate ligand for GPR39 but its
effect on food intake and its ability to activate GPR39 are still controversial. Although several teams failed to
reproduce obestatin’s anorexigenic actions, this peptide has been shown to antagonise GH secretion and
food intake induced by ghrelin and could be an interesting pharmacological tool to counteract ghrelin’s actions.
Ghrelin and obestatin immunoreactivities are recovered in the blood with an ultradian pulsatility and their
concentrations in plasma vary with the nutritional status of the body. It is still a matter of debate whether both
hormones are regulated by independent mechanisms and if obestatin is a physiologically relevant peptide.
Nevertheless a significant number of studies show that the ghrelin/obestatin ratio is modified in anorexia
nervosa and obesity. This suggests that the ghrelin/obestatin balance could be essential to adapt the body’s response
to nutritional challenges. Although measuring ghrelin and obestatin in plasma is challenging as many forms of the
peptides circulate, more sensitive and selective assays to detect the different preproghrelin-derived peptides are
being developed and may be the key to a better understanding of their roles in different physiological and
pathological conditions. PMID: 20456603