Effect of exogenous ghrelin on cell differentiation antigen 40 expression in endothelial cells

Ghrelin is a brain-gut peptide that serves as a natural ligand for growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR). It also exists abundantly in the cardiovascular system. In order to evaluate the possible role of ghrelin in the development of atherosclerosis, the effect of ghrelin on the expression of cell differentiation antigen 40 (CD40) were studied. Human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) line-ECV 304 was pre-treated with different concentrations of ghrelin, des-acyl ghrelin or [d-Lys]-GHRP-6 (a ghrelin receptor antagonist), and then induced with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon gamma (IFN-gamma). The mRNA levels of CD40 were analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and the expressions of CD40 protein in the cells were measured by flow cytometry (FCM) and Western blotting. The results showed that exogenous ghrelin could significantly inhibit TNF-alpha/IFN-gamma induced CD40 expression in HUVEC cells in a concentration-dependent manner. When treated with 1000 ng/ml of ghrelin, the mRNA level of CD40 in the cells was decreased by approximately 77%, but when treated with both 1000 ng/ml of ghrelin and 1000 ng/ml of [d-Lys]-GHRP-6, the mRNA level of CD40 in the cells was decreased by only 42%, suggesting that [d-Lys]-GHRP-6 could counteract the inhibitory effect of ghrelin in these cells. However, CD40 expression was not inhibited by des-acyl ghrelin at 1000 ng/ml. The results in protein expression analysis detected by FCM and Western blotting further confirmed these results. Our results suggested that in the cardiovascular system, ghrelin not only has an anti-inflammatory effect, but also has a significant immunoregulatory effect that may be mediated through the GHSR-1a receptor.