The expressions of Ghrelin and its receptor in Hirschsprung' s disease

Objective To study the expressions of Ghrelin and its receptor (GHSR) in the patients with Hirschsprungs disease (HD).Methods Eighteen patients who were diagnosed with HD and underwent transanal pull-through procedure were recruited in this study.The resected colon was collected to study the expressions of Ghrelin and GHSR by immunohistochemistry staining.Results Ghrelin and GHSR protein were consistently expressed in the glandular epithelium and villi of the ganglionic colon.In the aganglionic segment,the expressions of Ghrelin and GHSR were significantly reduced (Ghrelin:0.1460 ± 0.014,GHSR:0.1386 ± 0.016).However,the expressions of Ghrelin and GHSR were restored in the dilated segment of colon (Ghrelin..0.5103 ± 0.013,GHSR..0.5094 ±0.019).Moderate expressions of Ghrelin and GHSR were found in the transition zone.In the same tissue of colon,the expression of Ghrelin was not significantly different from that of GHSR (P＞0.05).Conclusions The expressions of Ghrelin and GHSR are reduced in the aganglionic colon of the patients with HD. Key words: Hirschsprung' s discase;  Ghrelin;  Receptors, Ghrelin