Differential roles for octanoylated and decanoylated ghrelins in regulating appetite and metabolism.

Since its identification in 1999, ghrelin has been identified in all vertebrate groups. The "active core" of ghrelin is highly conserved among vertebrates, suggesting its biological activity to be also conserved. In fish, both acylated forms of ghrelin have been identified; however, the ratio of the ghrelin-C8 to ghrelin-C10 is not as great as observed in mammals. In the tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), ghrelin-C10 is the major form of ghrelin. Since fish are known to inhabit every ecological niche on earth, studies on fish have provided valuable insight into vertebrate physiology in general; it is likely that understanding the role of both acylated forms of ghrelin, in more detail, in fish will result into novel insights in the biology of ghrelin within vertebrates. In this paper we discuss ghrelin's role in regulating appetite and metabolism in fish, in general, and provide evidence that the two tilapia ghrelins exhibit different biological roles.