Leptin vs Ghrelin: what is the difference?
Ghrelin, from the stomach, is a short term signal to eat that rises before meals, while leptin, from fat tissue, is a long term signal about energy stores.
Sources and notes
- The sentence under the titlefrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notesThe pair's answer line.
Side by side
| Leptin | Ghrelin | |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular weightCalculated PubChem | 2,004.3 g/molC87H138N22O28S2 | 3,370.9 g/molC149H249N47O42 |
| Hydrogen-bond donorsCalculated PubChem | 30 | 48 |
| FamilyEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Peptides | Peptides |
| Everyday groupEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Body | Body |
| Chemical groupsCalculated Found by rule (RDKit) | Alcohols, Carboxylic Acids, Amines, Aromatics, Amides, Thiols | Alcohols, Carboxylic Acids, Amines, Aromatics, Esters, Amides |
Sources and notes
- Molecular weightcomputedPubChemComputed from the structure; the formula is under each weight.
- Hydrogen-bond donorscomputedPubChemThe hydrogens on nitrogen or oxygen that each molecule can lend to a hydrogen bond, counted from its structure.
- Familyfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Everyday groupfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Chemical groupscomputedFound by rule (RDKit)Each group is found in the structure by a chemical pattern.
- Identifiersfrom sourcePubChemPubChem CID 157010069 (Leptin) and 16133832 (Ghrelin).
In more detail
These two are usually introduced as the fullness hormone and the hunger hormone, and the neat symmetry hides how differently they behave. Ghrelin is made mostly in the stomach, rises before a meal and falls after it, and acts on a timescale of hours: it is a short-term signal to eat now. Leptin is made by fat tissue in proportion to how much of it there is, so it is a long-term signal about energy stores rather than about the next meal. That asymmetry is why the two are not a simple on and off pair. Both are peptide hormones, ghrelin a short chain and leptin a protein several times its size, so neither survives the stomach.
Sources and notes
- The paragraphfrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notes
Questions
- What is the difference between Leptin and Ghrelin?
- Ghrelin, from the stomach, is a short term signal to eat that rises before meals, while leptin, from fat tissue, is a long term signal about energy stores.
- Is Leptin bigger than Ghrelin?
- Ghrelin is the heavier molecule, 3,370.9 g/mol against 2,004.3 g/mol for Leptin. Leptin is C87H138N22O28S2 and Ghrelin is C149H249N47O42.
Sources and notes
- The answersfrom sourceMoleculeFinderThe first is the pair's answer line; the others are read off the table above.