Ghrelin growth hormone secretagogue receptor, with the "GHS-R1b" splice being inactive) is involved in mediating a wide variety of biological effects of ghrelin, including: stimulation of growth hormone release, increase in hunger, modulation of glucose and lipid metabolism, regulation of gastrointestinal motility and secretion, protection of neuronal and cardiovascular cells, and regulation of immune function. They are present in high density in the hypothalamus and pituitary, on the vagus nerve (on both afferent cell bodies and afferent nerve endings) and throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Ghrelin promotes intestinal cell proliferation and inhibits apoptosis during inflammatory states and oxidative stress. It also suppresses
Growth hormone and extracted from carcasses. Hormone extracted from human cadavers is abbreviated "hGH". The main growth hormone produced by recombinant DNA technology has the approved generic name (INN) "somatropin" and the brand name "Humatrope", and is properly abbreviated rhGH in the scientific literature. Since its introduction in 1992 Humatrope has been a banned sports doping agent, and in this context is referred to as HGH. Genes for human growth hormone, known as growth hormone 1 (somatotropin; pituitary growth hormone) and growth hormone 2 (placental growth hormone; growth hormone variant), are localized in the q22-24 region of chromosome 17 and are closely