Distribution of Obestatin and Ghrelin in Human Tissues: Immunoreactive Cells in the Gastrointestinal Tract, Pancreas, and Mammary Glands

Malin Grönberg ¹, Apostolos V. Tsolakis ¹, Linda Magnusson ¹, Eva T. Janson ¹ and Jan Saras ^1*

¹ Section of Endocrine Oncology, Department of Medical Sciences, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jan.saras{at}medsci.uu.se.

Submitted on February 18, 2008
Accepted on 2 May 2008

	Abstract

Obestatin and ghrelin are two peptides derived from the same prohormone. It is well established that ghrelin is produced by endocrine cells in the gastric mucosa. However, the distribution of human obestatin immunoreactive cells is not thoroughly characterized. A polyclonal antibody which specifically recognizes human obestatin was produced. Using this antibody and a commercial antibody vs. ghrelin, the distribution of obestatin and ghrelin immunoreactive cells was determined in a panel of human tissues using immunohistochemistry. The two peptides were detected in the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract, from cardia to ileum as well as in the pancreatic islets. Interestingly, epithelial cells in the ducts of mammary glands showed distinct immunoreactivity for both ghrelin and obestatin. By double immunofluorescence microscopy, it was revealed that all detected cells were immunoreactive for both peptides. Furthermore, the subcellular localization of obestatin and ghrelin was essentially identical, indicating that obestatin and ghrelin are stored in the same secretory vesicles.

Key Words: chromogranin A, ghrelin, gut, immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, intestine, mammary glands, obestatin, pancreas

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