GHRL encodes ghrelin and obestatin, a 28-amino acid peptide hormone primarily functioning as a ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR) 1. Beyond growth hormone stimulation, ghrelin regulates energy balance, appetite, gastric acid release, insulin secretion, and gastrointestinal motility 1. The hormone demonstrates broad metabolic effects, with elevated ghrelin levels associated with increased food intake and obesity; therapeutic interventions reducing ghrelin secretion correlate with decreased adiposity and improved lipid profiles 2. Mechanistically, ghrelin modulates multiple physiological pathways including inflammatory responses, circadian sleep-wake cycles, and corticotropin secretion 3. GHRL expression extends beyond classical endocrine tissues, with intronic long non-coding RNAs (lnc-GHRL-3:2 and lnc-GHRL-3:3) emerging as biomarkers in type 2 diabetes mellitus 4. In intervertebral disc degeneration, GHRL and related lipid metabolism pathways represent promising therapeutic targets 5. Clinically, GHRL polymorphisms influence antipsychotic-induced weight gain 6, though genetic variants show weak associations with cancer susceptibility 7. The ghrelin receptor exhibits distinct pharmacological profiles, with inverse agonists like PF-05190457 differentially modulating receptor signaling compared to endogenous agonists 8, suggesting therapeutic potential for GHRL-targeted interventions in metabolic and psychiatric disorders.