GHRL encodes the ghrelin-obestatin preproprotein, appetite-regulating hormone, that is cleaved to yield two peptides, ghrelin and obestatin. Ghrelin is a powerful appetite stimulant and plays an important role in energy homeostasis. Its secretion is initiated when the stomach is empty, whereupon it binds to the growth hormone secretagogue receptor in the hypothalamus which results in the secretion of growth hormone (somatotropin). Ghrelin is thought to regulate multiple activities, including hunger, reward perception via the mesolimbic pathway, gastric acid secretion, gastrointestinal motility, and pancreatic glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. It was initially proposed that obestatin plays an opposing role to ghrelin by promoting satiety and thus decreasing food intake, but this action is still debated. Recent reports suggest multiple metabolic roles for obestatin, including regulating adipocyte function and glucose metabolism. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. In addition, antisense transcripts for GHRL have been identified and may potentially regulate ghrelin-obestatin preproprotein expression.

GHRL; MTLRP; Appetite-regulating hormone; Growth hormone secretagogue; Growth hormone-releasing peptide; Motilin-related peptide; Protein M46