Long-term treatment of ghrelin stimulates feeding, fat deposition, and alters the GH/IGF-I axis in the tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus

Recently, a new peptide, ghrelin, which specifically stimulates growth hormone (GH) release from the pituitary, was identified in the rat and human stomach. Ghrelin has been shown to stimulate GH release by acting through a growth hormone secretagogue receptor. We have identified two ghrelins (ghrelin-C8 and -C10) in the stomach of tilapia, a euryhaline fish. The current study was aimed at investigating the in vivo effect of the two tilapia ghrelins on feeding, fat deposition, and on the GH/IGF-I axis. Tilapia were implanted with micro-osmotic pumps containing either ghrelin-C8, ghrelin-C10 or saline (control). Ghrelin was delivered at a continuous rate of 10 ng/h for 21 days. Food consumption increased significantly in those animals that received ghrelin-C10 but not ghrelin-C8. Treatment with ghrelin-C10 increased body weight significantly without altering body length. Hence, the condition factor was significantly higher in the ghrelin-C10 group compared with the control. Liver weight and total fat content in the liver were also elevated significantly in the fish treated with ghrelin-C10. There was no effect of either ghrelin on plasma GH levels, whereas plasma IGF-I levels were reduced significantly in the ghrelin-C10 group. These findings demonstrate that ghrelin plays a role in feeding and fat metabolism in the tilapia, and suggest that the two forms of ghrelin may be acting through different receptors.