Ghrelin, Lipid Metabolism, and Metabolic Syndrome

Fatty acids, which play a crucial role in the metabolic syndrome, are essential mediators for the actions of ghrelin on both food intake and adiposity. This chapter summarizes the current knowledge about ghrelin actions and signaling pathways on metabolic homeostasis and energy balance with special emphasis on those related to its effects at hypothalamic level. Ghrelin, a hormone mainly produced in the stomach with orexigenic properties, has attracted great attention as a potential antiobesity therapeutic target. Chronic ghrelin administration promotes weight gain and adiposity in rodents, as well as increasing voluntary food‐intake in humans. In addition to its role as main modulator of hypothalamic lipid metabolism, recent data have also highlighted the role of ghrelin as a main modulator of peripheral lipid metabolism.