Extraordinary level of hormone and number of ghrelin cells in the stomach and duodenum of an obese woman

Obesity is a major metabolic disorder, in which ghrelin plays a significant role. The objective of this study was to characterize the morphology of ghrelin cells in the stomach and duodenum and the levels of ghrelin and leptin in the serum of a 52-year-old obese woman. Material for the study was obtained from the stomachs and duodenum, of obese and control women. Each subject had been treated at the Intensive Care Unit of the Clinical University Hospital in Białystok, due to brain damage, due to primary cardiac arrest. After brain death was diagnosed and individual death was confirmed by doctors, stomach and duodenum samples were collected from each body. Paraffin sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and processed for immunolocalization of ghrelin. The density of ghrelin cells in each part of the gastrointestinal tract was estimated under a light microscope with a digital camera. Ghrelin-IR cells were also analyzed in terms of morphometric features such as length, width and area. The ghrelin and leptin concentrations in each blood sample were measured by ELISA. Immunohistochemical studies revealed a small number of ghrelin cells in the stomach and duodenum which did not reflect the high level of hormone. The obese woman had lower number of ghrelin cells in the stomach and duodenum and elevated ghrelin and leptin levels in serum. It can therefore be assumed that additional source of ghrelin and probably changes in activity of ghrelin o-acylotransferase, are responsible for the high concentration of ghrelin in the obese woman.