Defects in adaptive energy metabolism with CNS-linked hyperactivity in PGC-1alpha null mice.
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PGC-1alpha is a coactivator of nuclear receptors and other transcription factors that regulates several metabolic processes, including mitochondrial biogenesis and respiration, hepatic gluconeogenesis, and muscle fiber-type switching. We show here that, while hepatocytes lacking PGC-1alpha are defective in the program of hormone-stimulated gluconeogenesis, the mice have constitutively activated gluconeogenic gene expression that is completely insensitive to normal feeding controls. C/EBPbeta is elevated in the livers of these mice and activates the gluconeogenic genes in a PGC-1alpha-independent manner. Despite having reduced mitochondrial function, PGC-1alpha null mice are paradoxically lean and resistant to diet-induced obesity. This is largely due to a profound hyperactivity displayed by the null animals and is associated with lesions in the striatal region of the brain that controls movement. These data illustrate a central role for PGC-1alpha in the control of energy metabolism but also reveal novel systemic compensatory mechanisms and pathogenic effects of impaired energy homeostasis. (+info)
Effect of short-term cigarette smoke exposure on body weight, appetite and brain neuropeptide Y in mice.
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Although nicotinic receptors have been demonstrated in hypothalamic appetite-regulating areas and nicotine administration alters food intake and body weight in both animals and humans, the mechanisms underlying the effects of smoking on appetite circuits remain unclear. Conflicting effects of nicotine on the major orexigenic peptide, neuropeptide Y (NPY), have been observed in the brain, but the effects of smoking are unknown. Thus, we aimed to investigate how cigarette smoking affects body weight, food intake, plasma leptin concentration, hypothalamic NPY peptide, adipose mass and mRNA expression of uncoupling proteins (UCP), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha. Balb/C mice (8 weeks) were exposed to cigarette smoke (three cigarettes, three times a day for 4 consecutive days) or sham exposed. Body weight and food intake were recorded. Plasma leptin and brain NPY were measured by radioimmunoassay. UCPs and TNF alpha mRNA were measured by real-time PCR. Food intake dropped significantly from the first day of smoking, and weight loss became evident within 2 days. Brown fat and retroperitoneal white fat masses were significantly reduced, and plasma leptin concentration was decreased by 34%, in line with the decreased fat mass. NPY concentrations in hypothalamic subregions were similar between two groups. UCP1 mRNA was decreased in white fat and UCP3 mRNA increased in brown fat in smoking group. Short-term cigarette smoke exposure led to reduced body weight, food intake, and fat mass. The reduction in plasma leptin concentration may have been too modest to increase NPY production; alternatively, change in NPY or its function might have been offset by nicotine or other elements in cigarette smoke. (+info)
Cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic responses to chronic central administration of agouti-related peptide.
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Although excess hypothalamic agouti-related peptide (AGRP), an endogenous antagonist of the melanocortin 3/4 receptor, causes hyperphagia and obesity, its role in regulating cardiovascular function is unclear. This study examined control of mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and metabolism during chronic central administration of AGRP in rats. A cannula was placed in the lateral ventricle for intracerebroventricular infusion, and arterial and venous catheters were implanted for monitoring MAP and HR 24 hours per day, as well as intravenous infusions. After a 5-day control period, rats received AGRP (n=6; 0.02 nmol per hour ICV) or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF; n=9; 0.02 nmol per hour ICV) for 12 days, followed by a 5-day recovery period. A third group was infused intracerebroventricularly with AGRP and pair-fed to match food intake of control rats (n=7). AGRP produced a peak decrease in MAP and HR of -7+/-2 mm Hg and -68+/-7 bpm, respectively, despite increased food intake (from 23+/-0.5 to 36+/-3 g per day) and weight gain (from 350+/-8 to 454+/-5 g). AGRP also increased glomerular filtration rate, plasma insulin, glucose, and leptin. AGRP infusion in pair-fed rats produced a peak decrease in HR of -70+/-8 bpm but did not alter MAP or other variables. The metabolic effects of AGRP may be secondary to hyperphagia because they were abolished in pair-fed rats. aCSF infusion did not change any of the variables studied. These results demonstrate that increased central nervous system AGRP levels produce chronic reductions in MAP and HR despite marked increases in food intake and weight gain that normally tend to raise arterial pressure. (+info)
Impact of glucose infusion on the structural and functional characteristics of adipose tissue and on hypothalamic gene expression for appetite regulatory neuropeptides in the sheep fetus during late gestation.
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In the present study, our aim was to determine whether intrafetal glucose infusion increases fetal adiposity, synthesis and secretion of leptin and regulates gene expression of the 'appetite regulatory' neuropeptides neuropepetide Y (NPY), agouti-related peptide (AGRP), pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) and receptors (leptin receptor (OB-Rb) and melancortin 3 receptor (MC3R)) within the fetal hypothalamus. Glucose (50% dextrose in saline) or saline was infused (7.5 ml h(-1)) into fetal sheep between 130 and 140 days gestation (term = 150 +/- 3 days gestation). Glucose infusion increased circulating glucose and insulin concentrations, mean lipid locule size (532.8 +/- 3.3 microm2 versus 456.7 +/- 14.8 microm2) and total unilocular fat mass (11.7 +/- 0.6 g versus 8.9 +/- 0.6 g) of the perirenal fat depot. The expression of OB-Rb mRNA was higher in the ventromedial nucleus compared to the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus in both glucose and saline infused fetuses (F= 8.04; P < 0.01) and there was a positive correlation between expression of OB-Rb and MC3R mRNA in the arcuate nucleus (r= 0.81; P < 0.005). Glucose infusion increased mRNA expression for POMC, but not for the anorectic neuropeptide CART, or the orexigenic neuropeptides NPY and AGRP, in the arcuate nucleus of the fetal hypothalamus. These findings demonstrate that increased circulating glucose and insulin regulate gene expression of the neuropeptides within the fetal hypothalamus that are part of the neural network regulating energy balance in adult life. (+info)
Appetite control.
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Our understanding of the physiological systems that regulate food intake and body weight has increased immensely over the past decade. Brain centres, including the hypothalamus, brainstem and reward centres, signal via neuropeptides which regulate energy homeostasis. Insulin and hormones synthesized by adipose tissue reflect the long-term nutritional status of the body and are able to influence these circuits. Circulating gut hormones modulate these pathways acutely and result in appetite stimulation or satiety effects. This review discusses central neuronal networks and peripheral signals which contribute energy homeostasis, and how a loss of the homeostatic process may result in obesity. It also considers future therapeutic targets for the treatment of obesity. (+info)
Secretory dynamics of ghrelin in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa and healthy adolescents.
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Ghrelin is an orexigenic peptide and a growth hormone (GH) secretagogue. Secretory dynamics of ghrelin have not been characterized in adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN). We hypothesized that, compared with healthy adolescents, girls with AN would have increased ghrelin concentrations measured over 12 h of nocturnal sampling from increased basal and pulsatile secretion, and endogenous ghrelin would independently predict GH and cortisol. We examined ghrelin concentration and secretory dynamics in 22 girls with AN and 18 healthy adolescents 12-18 yr old. Associations between ghrelin, various hormones, and measures of insulin resistance were examined. On Cluster analysis, girls with AN had higher ghrelin concentrations than controls, including total area under the curve (AUC) (P = 0.002), nadir (P = 0.0006), and valley levels (P = 0.002). On deconvolution analysis, secretory burst amplitude (P = 0.03) and burst mass (P = 0.04) were higher in AN, resulting in higher pulsatile (P = 0.05) and total ghrelin secretion (P = 0.03). Fasting ghrelin independently predicted GH burst frequency (r = 0.44, P = 0.005). The nutritional markers body mass index and body fat predicted postglucose and valley ghrelin but not fasting levels. Ghrelin parameters were inversely associated with fasting insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), leptin, and IGF-I. HOMA-IR was the most significant predictor of most ghrelin parameters. Valley ghrelin independently predicted cortisol burst frequency (52% of variability), and ghrelin parameters independently predicted total triiodothyronine and LH levels. Higher ghrelin concentrations in adolescents with AN are a consequence of increased secretory burst mass and amplitude. The most important predictor of ghrelin concentration is insulin resistance, and ghrelin in turn predicts GH and cortisol burst frequency. (+info)
Fetal and perinatal programming of appetite.
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There is increasing concern about the rapidly rising incidence of obesity worldwide and its impact both on mortality, morbidity and the cost of healthcare. In the last 15 years, a large volume of research has linked low birth weight to many adult diseases in humans, such as Type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and the metabolic syndrome. Obesity is a causal factor in all these conditions. There are epidemiological studies linking low birth weight to increased adiposity, but the timing of the insult during gestation seems crucial, as reducing maternal nutrition in late gestation and during lactation causes a reduction in later obesity. Recent studies in animal models have provided clues towards mechanisms of altered appetite regulation following alterations in fetal and neonatal growth. The outcome of these and future studies could prove clinically crucial, particularly in the debate over the benefits of breast feeding, which provides a lower plane of nutrition compared with formula feeding. (+info)
Neuromedin U has a physiological role in the regulation of food intake and partially mediates the effects of leptin.
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Intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of Neuromedin U (NMU), a hypothalamic neuropeptide, or leptin, an adipostat hormone released from adipose tissue, reduces food intake and increases energy expenditure. Leptin stimulates the release of NMU in vitro, and NMU expression is reduced in models of low or absent leptin. We investigated the role of NMU in mediating leptin-induced satiety. ICV administration of anti-NMU immunoglobulin G (IgG) (5 nmol) to satiated rats significantly increased food intake 4 h after injection, an effect seen for +info)