Altered myocardial expression of ghrelin and its receptor (GHSR-1a) in patients with severe heart failure

▶ Failing hearts express decreased levels of ghrelin and increased levels of the GHS-R. ▶ The expression of these proteins does not differ between the cardiac anatomical areas. ▶ The ghrelin-system appears as part of the network regulating cardiac performance. Ghrelin is a peptide hormone mainly produced by the stomach, which strongly stimulates the release of growth hormone (GH) via the GH secretagogue receptor 1a (GHSR-1a) located in the hypothalamus. It has been reported to exert performance-enhancing effects on myocardial function, and as both ghrelin and GHSR-1a are expressed in myocardial tissues, the ghrelin system may have a direct GH-independent impact on cardiac function. We intended to investigate the expression of ghrelin and its receptor GHSR-1a in different myocardial areas of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) as compared to heart-healthy subjects to better define the role of the ghrelin signaling system in the networks regulating cardiac function and its potential as a target for diagnosis and/or treatment of CHF. Myocardium biopsies of 12 patients undergoing heart transplantation and suffering from CHF were obtained. Expression of both ghrelin and GHSR-1a was assessed by means of immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR. Expression of ghrelin was significantly decreased in CHF hearts both in atrium and ventricles in comparison to the control hearts ( p < 0.05). The expression of the GHS-1a receptor was significantly increased in the CHF biopsies as compared to controls ( p < 0.05). No significant differences were found between the anatomical areas studied. Expression of myocardial ghrelin and GHSR-1a is directly associated with myocardial function: CHF hearts exhibit an impaired ghrelin production which might reflect maladaptive processes and an – probably compensatory – increase in GHSR-1a expression. These findings may open up new perspectives regarding the potential of ghrelin signaling as a target for pharmacological modulation.