The discovery of ghrelin - A personal memory

The endogenous ligand for growth-hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R) was purified from the stomach and named it ghrelin, after the word root ghre in Proto-Indo-European languages meaning grow, since ghrelin has potent growth hormone (GH) releasing activity. Ghrelin plays important roles for maintaining growth hormone release and energy homeostasis in vertebrates. In this essay, I described my, personal memory on the discovery of ghrelin in the year 1999. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.