In rats with severe burns, a short peptide called GHRP-2 (a ghrelin mimetic) reduced inflammation and the activity of muscle‑breaking enzymes, leading to less loss of muscle protein. The peptide was delivered continuously for a day via a tiny pump, and it blunted the rise in markers that normally drive muscle wasting after injury.

Thermal injury results in hypermetabolism, loss of body weight, and skeletal muscle wasting in mice and rats. Our earlier studies have demonstrated that ghrelin injection stimulates food intake and growth hormone release and inhibits skeletal muscle proteolysis in rats with thermal injury. We sought to develop a lower molecular weight, stable and longer acting peptide to combat the catabolic responses caused by thermal injury. Towards this goal, we examined the role of the hexapeptide mimetic of ghrelin, growth hormone-releasing peptide-2 (GHRP-2), on expression of E3 ubiquitin ligases and breakdown of muscle protein in rats with thermal injury. Slow in vivo release of GHRP-2 through minipump for 24h attenuated the thermal injury-induced increase in mRNA expression of IL-6 and of the E3 ubiquitin ligases, MuRF-1 and MAFbx, in rat skeletal muscle. Furthermore, burn-induced increases in total and myofibrillar protein breakdown from rat EDL muscle were attenuated by GHRP-2. These findings suggest that catabolic responses resulting from thermal injury can be attenuated by GHRP-2.