Obesity influences the food consumption and cytokine pattern in ghrelin-treated endotoxemic rats

Obese patients have an increased incidence of systemic infections and higher morbidity and mortality rates than normal weight subjects. Ghrelin is a potent orexigenic signal from the stomach and seems to play a role in the generation and control of immune interactions. To examine a possible benefit of a single ghrelin application on acute endotoxemia, chronic intravenous (i.v.) cannulated lean and diet-induced obese male LEW rats were treated with a bolus injection of either ghrelin (10 nmol/kg) or vehicle, 10 min prior to a challenge with a sublethal bolus of endotoxin (100 μg/kg) or vehicle. Multiple blood samples were taken within a period from 24 h before the experiment up to 24 h after the endotoxin challenge to measure ghrelin and cytokine levels. Additionally, food consumption was recorded and ghrelin expression in fore- and glandular stomach was evaluated immunohistochemically. Despite higher serum ghrelin levels, the food consumption was significantly decreased in obese endotoxemic rats compared to lean littermates after ghrelin treatment. Furthermore we could show an increase of anti-inflammatory IL-10 serum levels after ghrelin treatment of normal weight endotoxemic and an opposite effect in obese animals. As the therapy of disease-associated cachexia and various immunological problems in endotoxemia is still insufficient, peptides such as ghrelin with their modulating abilities for the endocrine and the immune system are of special interest. However, the present study shows that the beneficial effects of ghrelin were attenuated in obese endotoxemic animals. These data further document the necessity to differentiate between normal weight and obese subjects in the attempt to establish ghrelin as a therapeutic target in endotoxemia.