Q9UBU3 (GHRL_HUMAN) Reviewed, UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot

Names and origin

Protein names

Recommended name:
Appetite-regulating hormone

Alternative name(s):
Growth hormone secretagogue
Growth hormone-releasing peptide
Motilin-related peptide
Protein M46

Cleaved into the following 3 chains:

1. Ghrelin-27
2. Ghrelin-28
   Short name=Ghrelin
3. Obestatin

Gene names

Name:	GHRL
Synonyms:	MTLRP
ORF Names:	UNQ524/PRO1066

Organism

Homo sapiens (Human)

Taxonomic identifier

9606 [NCBI]

Taxonomic lineage

Eukaryota › Metazoa › Chordata › Craniata › Vertebrata › Euteleostomi › Mammalia › Eutheria › Euarchontoglires › Primates › Haplorrhini › Catarrhini › Hominidae › Homo

Protein attributes

Sequence length	117 AA.
Sequence status	Complete.
Sequence processing	The displayed sequence is further processed into a mature form.
Protein existence	Evidence at protein level

General annotation (Comments)

Function	Ghrelin is the ligand for growth hormone secretagogue receptor type 1 (GHSR). Induces the release of growth hormone from the pituitary. Has an appetite-stimulating effect, induces adiposity and stimulates gastric acid secretion. Involved in growth regulation. Obestatin may be the ligand for GPR39. May have an appetite-reducing effect resulting in decreased food intake. May reduce gastric emptying activity and jejunal motility By similarity.
Subcellular location	Secreted.
Tissue specificity	Highest level in stomach. All forms are found in serum as well. Other tissues compensate for the loss of ghrelin synthesis in the stomach following gastrectomy. Ref.4
Post-translational modification	O-octanoylation or O-decanoylation is essential for ghrelin activity. The O-decanoylated forms Ghrelin-27-C10 and Ghrelin-28-C10 differ in the length of the carbon backbone of the carboxylic acid bound to Ser-26. A small fraction of ghrelin, ghrelin-28-C10:1, may be modified with a singly unsaturated carboxylic acid. Amidation of Leu-98 is essential for obestatin activity By similarity.
Sequence similarities	Belongs to the motilin family.
Mass spectrometry	Molecular mass is 3398.9±0.3 Da from positions 24 - 51. Determined by ESI. Ghrelin-28-C10, O-decanoylated form. Ref.4 Molecular mass is 3397.2±0.5 Da from positions 24 - 51. Determined by ESI. Ghrelin-28-C10:1, O-decenoylated form. Ref.4 Molecular mass is 3371.3±0.1 Da from positions 24 - 51. Determined by ESI. Ghrelin-28-C8, O-octanoylated form. Ref.4 Molecular mass is 3243.6±0.4 Da from positions 24 - 50. Determined by ESI. Ghrelin-27-C10, O-decanoylated form. Ref.4 Molecular mass is 3214.6±0.6 Da from positions 24 - 50. Determined by ESI. Ghrelin-27-C8, O-octanoylated form. Ref.4

Ontologies

Keywords
Cellular component	Secreted
Coding sequence diversity	Alternative splicing Polymorphism
Domain	Signal
Molecular function	Hormone
PTM	Amidation Lipoprotein
Technical term	3D-structure Complete proteome Direct protein sequencing Reference proteome
Gene Ontology (GO)
Biological process	G-protein coupled receptor signaling pathway Inferred from sequence or structural similarity Ref.1. Source: UniProtKB actin polymerization or depolymerization Inferred from direct assay. Source: UniProtKB activation of MAPK activity Inferred from mutant phenotype. Source: UniProtKB adult feeding behavior Inferred from sequence or structural similarity. Source: HGNC cartilage development Non-traceable author statement. Source: UniProtKB cortisol secretion Non-traceable author statement. Source: UniProtKB decidualization Inferred from direct assay. Source: UniProtKB dendrite development Inferred from direct assay. Source: MGI elevation of cytosolic calcium ion concentration Inferred from sequence or structural similarity. Source: UniProtKB glucose metabolic process Non-traceable author statement. Source: UniProtKB growth hormone secretion Traceable author statement. Source: HGNC hormone-mediated signaling pathway Traceable author statement. Source: HGNC negative regulation of angiogenesis Non-traceable author statement. Source: UniProtKB negative regulation of circadian sleep/wake cycle, REM sleep Inferred from direct assay. Source: BHF-UCL negative regulation of endothelial cell proliferation Inferred from direct assay. Source: UniProtKB negative regulation of inflammatory response Inferred from direct assay. Source: UniProtKB negative regulation of interleukin-1 beta production Inferred from direct assay. Source: UniProtKB negative regulation of interleukin-6 biosynthetic process Inferred from direct assay. Source: UniProtKB negative regulation of tumor necrosis factor biosynthetic process Inferred from direct assay. Source: UniProtKB positive regulation of appetite Inferred from sequence or structural similarity. Source: HGNC positive regulation of circadian sleep/wake cycle, non-REM sleep Inferred from direct assay. Source: BHF-UCL positive regulation of corticotropin secretion Inferred from direct assay. Source: BHF-UCL positive regulation of cortisol secretion Inferred from direct assay. Source: BHF-UCL positive regulation of growth hormone receptor signaling pathway Inferred by curator. Source: BHF-UCL positive regulation of growth hormone secretion Inferred from direct assay. Source: BHF-UCL positive regulation of insulin secretion Inferred from sequence or structural similarity. Source: UniProtKB positive regulation of multicellular organism growth Inferred by curator. Source: HGNC positive regulation of synapse assembly Inferred from direct assay. Source: MGI response to estrogen stimulus Inferred from direct assay. Source: UniProtKB
Cellular component	axon Inferred from direct assay. Source: UniProtKB endoplasmic reticulum lumen Traceable author statement. Source: Reactome extracellular space Inferred from direct assay. Source: UniProtKB secretory granule Traceable author statement. Source: Reactome
Molecular function	ghrelin receptor binding Inferred from sequence or structural similarity. Source: UniProtKB growth hormone-releasing hormone activity Inferred from sequence or structural similarity Ref.1. Source: UniProtKB protein tyrosine kinase activator activity Inferred from mutant phenotype. Source: UniProtKB
Complete GO annotation...

Alternative products

This entry describes 5 isoforms produced by alternative splicing. [Align] [Select]

Isoform 1 (identifier: Q9UBU3-1)

Also known as: Ghrelin;

This isoform has been chosen as the 'canonical' sequence. All positional information in this entry refers to it. This is also the sequence that appears in the downloadable versions of the entry.

Isoform 2 (identifier: Q9UBU3-2)

Also known as: des-Gln14-ghrelin;

The sequence of this isoform differs from the canonical sequence as follows:
     37-37: Missing.

Isoform 3 (identifier: Q9UBU3-3)

The sequence of this isoform differs from the canonical sequence as follows:
     1-36: MPSPGTVCSLLLLGMLWLDLAMAGSSFLSPEHQRVQ → MFTCWWSYLRSTLAAVPGEASRVQ

Isoform 4 (identifier: Q9UBU3-4)

The sequence of this isoform differs from the canonical sequence as follows:
     1-36: MPSPGTVCSLLLLGMLWLDLAMAGSSFLSPEHQRVQ → MFTCWWSYLRSTLAAVPGEASRVQ
     37-37: Missing.

Isoform 5 (identifier: Q9UBU3-5)

The sequence of this isoform differs from the canonical sequence as follows:
     1-75: MPSPGTVCSL...EGAEDELEVR → MFTCWWSYLRSTLAAVPGEASRVQ

Sequence annotation (Features)

Feature key

Position(s)

Length

Description

Graphical view

Feature identifier

Molecule processing

Signal peptide

1 – 23

23

Ref.2 Ref.10

Peptide

24 – 51

28

Ghrelin-28

PRO_0000019202

Peptide

24 – 50

27

Ghrelin-27

PRO_0000019203

Propeptide

52 – 75

24

Removed in mature form

PRO_0000019204

Peptide

76 – 98

23

Obestatin By similarity

PRO_0000045140

Propeptide

99 – 117

19

Removed in mature form By similarity

PRO_0000045141

Amino acid modifications

Modified residue

98

1

Leucine amide By similarity

Lipidation

26

1

O-decanoyl serine; alternate

Lipidation

26

1

O-octanoyl serine; alternate

Natural variations

Alternative sequence

1 – 75

75

MPSPG…ELEVR → MFTCWWSYLRSTLAAVPGEA SRVQ in isoform 5.

VSP_041438

Alternative sequence

1 – 36

36

MPSPG…HQRVQ → MFTCWWSYLRSTLAAVPGEA SRVQ in isoform 3 and isoform 4.

VSP_041437

Alternative sequence

37

1

Missing in isoform 2 and isoform 4.

VSP_003245

Natural variant

72

1

L → M. Ref.9
Corresponds to variant rs696217 [ dbSNP | Ensembl ].

VAR_050095

Natural variant

90

1

Q → L.
Corresponds to variant rs4684677 [ dbSNP | Ensembl ].

VAR_029135

Secondary structure

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

117

Helix Strand Turn

Details...

Beta strand

8 – 14

7

Beta strand

17 – 24

8

Beta strand

27 – 29

3

Helix

30 – 35

6

Beta strand

57 – 60

4

Beta strand

63 – 70

8

Beta strand

73 – 77

5

Helix

90 – 93

4

Helix

95 – 104

10

Helix

107 – 115

9

Sequences

	Sequence		Length	Mass (Da)
	Isoform 1 (Ghrelin) [UniParc]. Last modified May 1, 2000. Version 1. Checksum: 39C0572EBECA2755	FASTA	117	12,911
	10 20 30 40 50 60 MPSPGTVCSL LLLGMLWLDL AMAGSSFLSP EHQRVQQRKE SKKPPAKLQP RALAGWLRPE 70 80 90 100 110 DGGQAEGAED ELEVRFNAPF DVGIKLSGVQ YQQHSQALGK FLQDILWEEA KEAPADK
	Isoform 2 (des-Gln14-ghrelin) [UniParc]. Checksum: F0DEBEEE880DC951	FASTA	116	12,783
	10 20 30 40 50 60 MPSPGTVCSL LLLGMLWLDL AMAGSSFLSP EHQRVQRKES KKPPAKLQPR ALAGWLRPED 70 80 90 100 110 GGQAEGAEDE LEVRFNAPFD VGIKLSGVQY QQHSQALGKF LQDILWEEAK EAPADK
	Isoform 3 [UniParc]. Checksum: 9E4000D6A0863F99	FASTA	105	11,784
	10 20 30 40 50 60 MFTCWWSYLR STLAAVPGEA SRVQQRKESK KPPAKLQPRA LAGWLRPEDG GQAEGAEDEL 70 80 90 100 EVRFNAPFDV GIKLSGVQYQ QHSQALGKFL QDILWEEAKE APADK
	Isoform 4 [UniParc]. Checksum: 508946F0C415058F	FASTA	104	11,656
	10 20 30 40 50 60 MFTCWWSYLR STLAAVPGEA SRVQRKESKK PPAKLQPRAL AGWLRPEDGG QAEGAEDELE 70 80 90 100 VRFNAPFDVG IKLSGVQYQQ HSQALGKFLQ DILWEEAKEA PADK
	Isoform 5 [UniParc]. Checksum: 5001F0A57716C83D	FASTA	66	7,460
	10 20 30 40 50 60 MFTCWWSYLR STLAAVPGEA SRVQFNAPFD VGIKLSGVQY QQHSQALGKF LQDILWEEAK EAPADK

References

	« Hide 'large scale' referencesShow 'large scale' references »
[1]	"Ghrelin is a growth-hormone-releasing acylated peptide from stomach." Kojima M., Hosoda H., Date Y., Nakazato M., Matsuo H., Kangawa K. Nature 402:656-660(1999) [PubMed: 10604470] [Abstract] Cited for: NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [MRNA] (ISOFORM 1), ACYLATION AT SER-26. Tissue: Stomach.
[2]	"Identification and characterization of a novel gastric peptide hormone: the motilin-related peptide." Tomasetto C., Karam S.M., Ribieras S., Masson R., Lefebvre O., Staub A., Alexander G., Chenard M.-P., Rio M.-C. Gastroenterology 119:395-405(2000) [PubMed: 10930375] [Abstract] Cited for: NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [MRNA] (ISOFORM 1), PROTEIN SEQUENCE OF 24-33. Tissue: Stomach.
[3]	"Genomic organization of the human Ghrelin gene." Wajnrajch M.P., Ten I.S., Gertner J.M., Leibel R.L. J. Endocr. Genet. 1:231-233(2000) Cited for: NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [GENOMIC DNA].
[4]	"Structural divergence of human ghrelin. Identification of multiple ghrelin-derived molecules produced by post-translational processing." Hosoda H., Kojima M., Mizushima T., Shimizu S., Kangawa K. J. Biol. Chem. 278:64-70(2003) [PubMed: 12414809] [Abstract] Cited for: NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [MRNA] (ISOFORM 2), TISSUE SPECIFICITY, ACYLATION AT SER-26, MASS SPECTROMETRY. Tissue: Stomach.
[5]	"Revised genomic structure of the human ghrelin gene and identification of novel exons, alternative splice variants and natural antisense transcripts." Seim I., Collet C., Herington A.C., Chopin L.K. BMC Genomics 8:298-298(2007) [PubMed: 17727735] [Abstract] Cited for: NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [MRNA] (ISOFORMS 1; 2; 3; 4 AND 5). Tissue: Heart, Kidney, Placenta and Stomach.
[6]	"The secreted protein discovery initiative (SPDI), a large-scale effort to identify novel human secreted and transmembrane proteins: a bioinformatics assessment." Clark H.F., Gurney A.L., Abaya E., Baker K., Baldwin D.T., Brush J., Chen J., Chow B., Chui C., Crowley C., Currell B., Deuel B., Dowd P., Eaton D., Foster J.S., Grimaldi C., Gu Q., Hass P.E. , Heldens S., Huang A., Kim H.S., Klimowski L., Jin Y., Johnson S., Lee J., Lewis L., Liao D., Mark M.R., Robbie E., Sanchez C., Schoenfeld J., Seshagiri S., Simmons L., Singh J., Smith V., Stinson J., Vagts A., Vandlen R.L., Watanabe C., Wieand D., Woods K., Xie M.-H., Yansura D.G., Yi S., Yu G., Yuan J., Zhang M., Zhang Z., Goddard A.D., Wood W.I., Godowski P.J., Gray A.M. Genome Res. 13:2265-2270(2003) [PubMed: 12975309] [Abstract] Cited for: NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [LARGE SCALE MRNA] (ISOFORM 1).
[7]	"The DNA sequence, annotation and analysis of human chromosome 3." Muzny D.M., Scherer S.E., Kaul R., Wang J., Yu J., Sudbrak R., Buhay C.J., Chen R., Cree A., Ding Y., Dugan-Rocha S., Gill R., Gunaratne P., Harris R.A., Hawes A.C., Hernandez J., Hodgson A.V., Hume J. , Jackson A., Khan Z.M., Kovar-Smith C., Lewis L.R., Lozado R.J., Metzker M.L., Milosavljevic A., Miner G.R., Morgan M.B., Nazareth L.V., Scott G., Sodergren E., Song X.-Z., Steffen D., Wei S., Wheeler D.A., Wright M.W., Worley K.C., Yuan Y., Zhang Z., Adams C.Q., Ansari-Lari M.A., Ayele M., Brown M.J., Chen G., Chen Z., Clendenning J., Clerc-Blankenburg K.P., Chen R., Chen Z., Davis C., Delgado O., Dinh H.H., Dong W., Draper H., Ernst S., Fu G., Gonzalez-Garay M.L., Garcia D.K., Gillett W., Gu J., Hao B., Haugen E., Havlak P., He X., Hennig S., Hu S., Huang W., Jackson L.R., Jacob L.S., Kelly S.H., Kube M., Levy R., Li Z., Liu B., Liu J., Liu W., Lu J., Maheshwari M., Nguyen B.-V., Okwuonu G.O., Palmeiri A., Pasternak S., Perez L.M., Phelps K.A., Plopper F.J., Qiang B., Raymond C., Rodriguez R., Saenphimmachak C., Santibanez J., Shen H., Shen Y., Subramanian S., Tabor P.E., Verduzco D., Waldron L., Wang J., Wang J., Wang Q., Williams G.A., Wong G.K.-S., Yao Z., Zhang J., Zhang X., Zhao G., Zhou J., Zhou Y., Nelson D., Lehrach H., Reinhardt R., Naylor S.L., Yang H., Olson M., Weinstock G., Gibbs R.A. Nature 440:1194-1198(2006) [PubMed: 16641997] [Abstract] Cited for: NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [LARGE SCALE GENOMIC DNA].
[8]	Mural R.J., Istrail S., Sutton G.G., Florea L., Halpern A.L., Mobarry C.M., Lippert R., Walenz B., Shatkay H., Dew I., Miller J.R., Flanigan M.J., Edwards N.J., Bolanos R., Fasulo D., Halldorsson B.V., Hannenhalli S., Turner R. , Yooseph S., Lu F., Nusskern D.R., Shue B.C., Zheng X.H., Zhong F., Delcher A.L., Huson D.H., Kravitz S.A., Mouchard L., Reinert K., Remington K.A., Clark A.G., Waterman M.S., Eichler E.E., Adams M.D., Hunkapiller M.W., Myers E.W., Venter J.C. Submitted (JUL-2005) to the EMBL/GenBank/DDBJ databases Cited for: NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [LARGE SCALE GENOMIC DNA].
[9]	"The status, quality, and expansion of the NIH full-length cDNA project: the Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC)." The MGC Project Team Genome Res. 14:2121-2127(2004) [PubMed: 15489334] [Abstract] Cited for: NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [LARGE SCALE MRNA] (ISOFORM 1), VARIANT MET-72. Tissue: Blood.
[10]	"Signal peptide prediction based on analysis of experimentally verified cleavage sites." Zhang Z., Henzel W.J. Protein Sci. 13:2819-2824(2004) [PubMed: 15340161] [Abstract] Cited for: PROTEIN SEQUENCE OF 24-38.
[11]	"Ghrelin: discovery of the natural endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor." Kojima M., Hosoda H., Matsuo H., Kangawa K. Trends Endocrinol. Metab. 12:118-122(2001) [PubMed: 11306336] [Abstract] Cited for: REVIEW.
+	Additional computationally mapped references.

Web resources

Atlas of Genetics and Cytogenetics in Oncology and Haematology

Protein Spotlight

Gut feelings - Issue 66 of January 2006

Wikipedia

Ghrelin entry

Cross-references

Sequence databases

EMBL
GenBank
DDBJ

AB029434 mRNA. Translation: BAA89371.1.
AJ252278 mRNA. Translation: CAB65733.1.
AF296558 Genomic DNA. Translation: AAG10300.1.
EU072086 mRNA. Translation: ABV55189.1.
EF549569 mRNA. Translation: ABQ40357.1.
EF549571 mRNA. Translation: ABQ40358.1.
EF549572 mRNA. Translation: ABQ40359.1.
EF549573 mRNA. Translation: ABQ40360.1.
EF549574 mRNA. Translation: ABQ40361.1.
EF549575 mRNA. Translation: ABQ40362.1.
EU072083 mRNA. Translation: ABV55186.1.
EU072084 mRNA. Translation: ABV55187.1.
EU072085 mRNA. Translation: ABV55188.1.
EU072087 mRNA. Translation: ABV55190.1.
AY359053 mRNA. Translation: AAQ89412.1.
AC022384 Genomic DNA. No translation available.
CH471055 Genomic DNA. Translation: EAW64074.1.
CH471055 Genomic DNA. Translation: EAW64075.1.
BC025791 mRNA. Translation: AAH25791.1.
AB035700 mRNA. Translation: BAB19045.1.

IPI

IPI00008925.
IPI00219213.
IPI00872396.
IPI00872504.
IPI00924498.

PIR

A59316.

RefSeq

NP_001128413.1. NM_001134941.1.
NP_001128416.1. NM_001134944.1.
NP_001128417.1. NM_001134945.1.
NP_001128418.1. NM_001134946.1.
NP_057446.1. NM_016362.3.

UniGene

Hs.590080.

3D structure databases

PDBe
RCSB PDB
PDBj

Entry	Method	Resolution (Å)	Chain	Positions	PDBsum
1P7X	model	-	A	1-117	[»]

ProteinModelPortal

Q9UBU3.

ModBase

Search...

Protein-protein interaction databases

STRING

Q9UBU3.

PTM databases

PhosphoSite

Q9UBU3.

Polymorphism databases

DMDM

17865471.

Proteomic databases

PRIDE

Q9UBU3.

Protocols and materials databases

StructuralBiologyKnowledgebase

Search...

Genome annotation databases

Ensembl

ENST00000287656; ENSP00000287656; ENSG00000157017.
ENST00000335542; ENSP00000335074; ENSG00000157017.
ENST00000429122; ENSP00000414819; ENSG00000157017.
ENST00000430179; ENSP00000399922; ENSG00000157017.
ENST00000437422; ENSP00000416768; ENSG00000157017.
ENST00000439975; ENSP00000403725; ENSG00000157017.
ENST00000449238; ENSP00000388145; ENSG00000157017.
ENST00000449554; ENSP00000415521; ENSG00000157017.
ENST00000450603; ENSP00000389192; ENSG00000157017.
ENST00000457360; ENSP00000391406; ENSG00000157017.

GeneID

51738.

KEGG

hsa:51738.

NMPDR

fig|9606.3.peg.22121.

UCSC

uc003bvk.2. human.
uc010hde.1. human.

Organism-specific databases

CTD

51738.

GeneCards

GC03M010302.

H-InvDB

HIX0003050.

HGNC

HGNC:18129. GHRL.

HPA

CAB022731.
HPA014246.

MIM

605353. gene.

neXtProt

NX_Q9UBU3.

PharmGKB

PA142671740.

GenAtlas

Search...

Phylogenomic databases

GeneTree

ENSGT00390000004064.

HOGENOM

HBG278010.

HOVERGEN

HBG018522.

InParanoid

Q9UBU3.

OMA

PFDIGIK.

OrthoDB

EOG4CRM1Q.

PhylomeDB

Q9UBU3.

Enzyme and pathway databases

Reactome

REACT_111102. Signal Transduction.
REACT_15380. Diabetes pathways.

Gene expression databases

ArrayExpress

Q9UBU3.

Bgee

Q9UBU3.

CleanEx

HS_GHRL.

Genevestigator

Q9UBU3.

GermOnline

ENSG00000157017. Homo sapiens.

Family and domain databases

InterPro

IPR006737. Motilin_assoc.
IPR006738. Motilin_ghrelin.
IPR005441. Preproghrelin.
[Graphical view]

KO

K05254.

PANTHER

PTHR14122. Preproghrelin. 1 hit.

Pfam

PF04643. Motilin_assoc. 1 hit.
PF04644. Motilin_ghrelin. 1 hit.
[Graphical view]

PRINTS

PR01624. GHRELIN.

ProtoNet

Search...

Other

NextBio

55808.

PMAP-CutDB

Q9UBU3.

SOURCE

Search...

Entry information

Entry name

GHRL_HUMAN

Accession

Primary (citable) accession number: Q9UBU3
Secondary accession number(s): A8CF34 , A8CF38, A8CF42, A8DN29, A8DN30, Q8TAT9, Q9H3R3

Entry history

Integrated into UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot:	December 13, 2001
Last sequence update:	May 1, 2000
Last modified:	January 25, 2012
This is version 117 of the entry and version 1 of the sequence. [Complete history]

Entry status

Reviewed (UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot)

Annotation program

Chordata Protein Annotation Program

Disclaimer

Any medical or genetic information present in this entry is provided for research, educational and informational purposes only. It is not in any way intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or care.