Exercise in rats does not alter hypothalamic AMP-activated protein kinase activity

Recent studies have demonstrated that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in the hypothalamus is involved in the regulation of food intake. Because exercise is known to influence appetite and cause substrate depletion, it may also influence AMPK in the hypothalamus. Male rats that either rested or ran for 30 or 60 min on a treadmill (22 m/min, 10% slope) were sacrificed immediately after exercise or after 60 min recovery either in the fasted state or after oral gavage with glucose (3g/kg body weight). Exercise decreased muscle and liver glycogen substantially. Hypothalamic total or alpha2-associated AMPK activity and phosphorylation state of the AMPK substrate acetyl-CoA carboxylase were not changed significantly immediately following treadmill running or during fed or fasted recovery. Plasma ghrelin increased (P<0.05) by 40% during exercise whereas the concentration of PYY was unchanged. In recovery, glucose feeding increased plasma glucose and insulin concentrations whereas ghrelin and PYY decreased to (ghrelin) or below (PPY) resting levels. It is concluded that 1h of strenuous exercise in rats does not elicit significant changes in hypothalamic AMPK activity despite an increase in plasma ghrelin. Thus, changes in energy metabolism during or after exercise are likely not coordinated by changes in hypothalamic AMPK activity.     

Ghrelin: a new peptide regulating growth hormone release and food intake

Ghrelin, identified as an endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, is a 28 amino acid peptide hormone possessing an unusual octanoyl group on the serine in position 3, crucial for its biological activity. Ghrelin is predominantly produced by the stomach but also by many other tissues such as pituitary, hypothalamus, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, colon, lung, heart, pancreas, kidney, and testis. In addition to stimulation of GH release, ghrelin stimulates appetite and food intake, enhancing fat mass deposition and weight gain. Besides these main actions, ghrelin regulates gastric motility and acid secretion, exerts cardiovascular and anti-inflammatory effects, modulates cell proliferation and influences endocrine and exocrine pancreatic secretion, as well as glucose and lipid metabolism. Therefore, ghrelin agonists and antagonists might be valuable for some clinical aspects.     

Gut hormones in relation to body mass and torpor pattern changes during food restriction and re-feeding in the gray mouse lemur

Potential implications of gut hormones in body mass and torpor and behavioral pattern changes induced by an incremental (40 and 80%) calorie restriction (CR) in long-days (LD, summer) and short-days (SD, winter) were investigated in gray mouse lemurs. Only 80% food-deprived LD and SD animals showed a continuous mass loss resulting in a 10 and 15% mass reduction, respectively. Ghrelin levels of all food-deprived groups increased by 2.6-fold on average and remained high after re-feeding while peptide YY (PYY) levels increased by 3.8-fold only in LD animals under 80% CR. In the re-fed SD group, body mass was positively associated with ghrelin and negatively associated with PYY, while no correlations were noted in the re-fed LD animals. Plasma glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) increased by 2.9-fold only in LD food-restricted mouse lemurs and was negatively associated with the minimal body temperature. No significant correlations were reported in food-deprived SD animals. These results suggest that ghrelin, PYY and GLP-1 may be related to pre-wintering fattening mechanisms and to the modulation of torpor expression, respectively. Such observation clearly warrants further investigations, but it opens an interesting area of research in torpor regulation.     

The effect of environmental temperature on olfactory perception in Drosophila melanogaster

Olfaction provides chemical information to an animal about its environment. When environmental conditions change, individuals should be able to adequately maintain function. Temperature may influence olfaction in a double manner, as it modifies the concentrations of gaseous compounds and affects biological processes. Here, we address acclimatization to environmental temperature in the olfactory system of Drosophila melanogaster using heat and cold treatments. Because the consequences of temperature shifts persist for some time after the treatment's end, comparison of olfactory behaviors at the same temperature in treated and untreated flies allows us to infer the biological effects of temperature in olfaction.At intermediate odorant concentrations heat always generates a reduction of olfactory sensitivity, as they would be expected to compensate for the increase of volatiles in the air. Cold produces the opposite effect. These changes are observed in both sexes and in natural populations as well as in standard laboratory stocks.Short applications suffice to cause detectable olfactory perception changes, but even prolonged temperature treatments have only a transitory effect. Together, these results suggest that olfaction in Drosophila underlies acclimatization to environmental temperature. However, sensitivity changes are not immediate and may cause imperfect adjustment of olfactory function for short time periods.     

Effect of ghrelin on gastric myoelectric activity and gastric emptying in rats

Ghrelin is a recently discovered peptide in the endocrine cells of the stomach, which may stimulate gastric motility via the vagal nerve pathway. However, the mechanism of ghrelin-induced changes in gastrointestinal motility has not been clearly defined. The purpose of this study was to investigate the pharmacological effects of ghrelin on gastric myoelectrical activity and gastric emptying in rats, and to investigate whether cholinergic activity is involved in the effects of ghrelin. The study was performed on Sprague-Dawley rats implanted with serosal electrodes for electrogastrographic recording. Gastric slow waves were recorded from fasting rats at baseline and after injection of saline, ghrelin, atropine, or atropine+ghrelin. Gastric emptying of non-caloric liquid was measured by the spectrophotometric method in conscious rats. Intravenous administration of rat ghrelin (20 microg/kg) increased not only dominant frequency, dominant power and regularity of the gastric slow wave but also the gastric emptying rate when compared with the control rats (P<0.01, P<0.05, P<0.05, P<0.001 respectively). These stimulatory actions of ghrelin on both gastric myoelectrical activity and gastric emptying were not fully eliminated by pretreatment with atropine sulphate. These results taken together suggest that ghrelin may play a physiological role in the enteric neurotransmission controlling gastric contractions in rats.     

Age at menarche: the influence of environmental conditions

Age at menarche was studied by the recollection method in two groups of Causasian Jewish high school girls, inhabitants of two towns in Israel, Safad and Elat. The two towns differ mainly in climatic conditions. The age at menarche was found to be significantly lower (P<0.02) in the hot town of Elat than in the temperate town of Safad: 13.30±1.21 and 13.58±0.9 years, respectively (mean ±SD). A significant association was found between the age at menarche and the town in which the girls lived. Accordingly, in the hot town of Elat, the percentage of girls who had their first menstrual cycle by the age of 12 years and earlier, was more than double that of the girls in Safad (17.9% and 7.1%, respectively). It is concluded that the environmental temperature, with or without any possible interaction of humidity, is probably responsible for the tendency for an earlier onset of menarche in girls living in the hot town of Elat.     

The influence of local spring temperature variance on temperature sensitivity of spring phenology

The impact of climate warming on the advancement of plant spring phenology has been heavily investigated over the last decade and there exists great variability among plants in their phenological sensitivity to temperature. However, few studies have explicitly linked phenological sensitivity to local climate variance. Here, we set out to test the hypothesis that the strength of phenological sensitivity declines with increased local spring temperature variance, by synthesizing results across ground observations. We assemble ground‐based long‐term (20–50 years) spring phenology database (PEP725 database) and the corresponding climate dataset. We find a prevalent decline in the strength of phenological sensitivity with increasing local spring temperature variance at the species level from ground observations. It suggests that plants might be less likely to track climatic warming at locations with larger local spring temperature variance. This might be related to the possibility that the frost risk could be higher in a larger local spring temperature variance and plants adapt to avoid this risk by relying more on other cues (e.g., high chill requirements, photoperiod) for spring phenology, thus suppressing phenological responses to spring warming. This study illuminates that local spring temperature variance is an understudied source in the study of phenological sensitivity and highlight the necessity of incorporating this factor to improve the predictability of plant responses to anthropogenic climate change in future studies.     

Influence of early qualitative feed restriction and environmental temperature on long bone development of broiler chickens

This investigation was carried out to study the influence of early qualitative feed restriction and environmental rearing temperature on long bone development in broiler. Energy and protein restriction reduced femur width and humerus weight, but did not affect tibia parameters. Broilers kept at cold environmental temperature showed reduced femur, tibia and humerus length and tibia weight, but the calculated density was not affected by rearing temperature. These findings suggest that qualitative feed restriction and environmental temperature influenced the normal long bone growth; however, bone weight/bone length index (calculated density) was not affected by rearing temperature.     

Interface between metabolic balance and reproduction in ruminants: Focus on the hypothalamus and pituitary

This article is part of a Special Issue “Energy Balance”.     

The influence of biological and environmental factors on metallothionein concentration in the blood

The concentration of metallothionein (MT), a low-molecular-weight protein, is regulated by many factors, primarily metals (zinc, cadmium, copper), cytokines, glucocorticoides and free radicals. These factors are determined by such aspects of human biology as gender, pregnancy and age, as well as by environmental factors including the use of oral contraceptives and cigarette smoking, all which may affect MT levels in the body.The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of these biological and environmental factors on MT concentrations in erythrocyte lysate and in plasma.MT concentrations were determined by a two-step direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Evaluation of exposure to cigarette smoking was performed by checking cotinine levels in the plasma of subjects.The studies showed higher MT concentrations in both the erythrocyte lysate and plasma of women when compared to men. Furthermore, pregnancy causes an increase of MT concentration in plasma, while oral contraceptives cause an elevated concentration of MT in erythrocyte lysate. Age impacts plasma MT concentrations in men, whereas it does not affect concentrations of MT in erythrocyte lysate.     

The effects of environmental temperature on the body temperature and ear morphology of the mouse

1. 1.|The external temperatures of the trunks and tails of four groups of mice kept at 33, 21, 8 and 4°C for the first 6 months of their life were different depending on the environmental temperature.

2. 2.|The skin temperatures over the tails was lower than those over the trunk at all ambient temperatures but the internal rectal temperature had not changed.

3. 3.|Those ear pinnae are also important in thermoregulation for those of 33°C mice were larger and thinner than those kept at the lower temperatures.

高温调控对黄瓜霜霉病菌侵染的影响

采取温湿度相结合的方法来研究高温处理对黄瓜霜霉病菌（Pseudoperonospora cubensis Rostov)侵染的影响,比较研究了35－50℃4个温度梯度、50％－90％5个湿度组合处理对病菌致病性的影响。同一相对湿度条件下,随着温度的上升病菌致病性降低;40－50℃的高温范围内,在同一温度下随着湿度的不断升高,受处理病菌的致病能力逐渐下降。在RH80％以上、温度40℃以上时,病菌的致病力随着处理时间的延长而变弱;45℃以下的高温高湿处理病菌超过1h,病菌基本上没有致病性。通过高温控制苗期黄瓜霜霉病的研究,确定高温高湿防治苗期黄瓜霜霉病的最佳温湿度为45℃1h(RH80%)。通过高温致死菌诱导植株抗性的研究,初步明确高温处理致死的病菌可以短期诱导植株的抗性。     

The metabolic and biochemical responses of tropical whitespotted bamboo shark Chiloscyllium plagiosum to alterations in environmental temperature

The capacity of tropical whitespotted bamboo sharks Chiloscyllium plagiosum to metabolically compensate, at both the whole‐animal and biochemical levels, to prolonged exposure to temperatures higher (30° C) and lower (20 and 15° C) than their native temperature (24·5° C) was examined. As expected, whitespotted bamboo shark oxygen consumption increased upon exposure to 30° C and decreased at 20 and 15° C. Initial changes in oxygen consumption were maintained even after months at the experimental temperature, indicating that whitespotted bamboo sharks did not compensate metabolically to the experimental temperatures. Maximal activities and thermal sensitivity of citrate synthase and lactate dehydrogenase from whitespotted bamboo shark white locomotor muscle were similar between control animals maintained at 24·5° C and those maintained at 15° C, indicating that cold‐exposed animals did not compensate at the biochemical level. Similarly, lactate dehydrogenase activity did not change following prolonged exposure to 30° C. White muscle from whitespotted bamboo sharks maintained at 30° C had significantly lower citrate synthase activity than did control animals. This result was surprising given the lack of metabolic compensation at the whole‐animal level. Overall, whole‐animal oxygen consumption measurements supported the hypothesis that animals from thermally stable environments lacked the capacity to metabolically compensate to altered temperatures. Enzymatic results, however, suggested that the metabolic potential of muscle could change following temperature acclimation even in the absence of metabolic compensation at the whole‐animal level.     

Ghrelin and appetite control in humans--potential application in the treatment of obesity

Ghrelin is a peptide hormone secreted into circulation from the stomach. It has been postulated to act as a signal of hunger. Ghrelin administration acutely increases energy intake in lean and obese humans and chronically induces weight gain and adiposity in rodents. Circulating ghrelin levels are elevated by fasting and suppressed following a meal. Inhibiting ghrelin signaling therefore appears an attractive target for anti-obesity therapies. A number of different approaches to inhibiting the ghrelin system to treat obesity have been explored. Despite this, over a decade after its discovery, no ghrelin based anti-obesity therapies are close to reaching the market. This article discusses the role of ghrelin in appetite control in humans, examines different approaches to inhibiting the ghrelin system and assesses their potential as anti-obesity therapies.     

The influence of temperature on light enhanced glycoalkaloid synthesis in potato

The influence of temperature on total glycoalkaloid (TGA) synthesis in tubers exposed to light (250 jumol m“² s”² PAR, Photosynthetically Active Radiation) or dark environments for 96 h was examined in three potato cultivars. Following 96 h light or dark the tubers were stored without light at 5°C or 24°C and TGA concentrations monitored over the subsequent 30 and 90 days. Exposure to light and cultivar were found to be major factors influencing TGA concentrations; temperature had no significant effect. TGA content in illuminated tubers of cvs ‘Pentland Hawk’ and ‘Kerrs Pink’ were significantly higher (P < 0.01) compared with tubers placed in the dark. TGA concentrations in cv. ‘Desiree’ increased significantly only following exposure to light at low temperatures (P < 0.05). Removal of tubers from storage at 5°C and immediate illumination at 24°C altered the ratio of glycoalkaloids in cvs ‘Pentland Hawk’ and ‘Kerrs Pink’. Regardless of cultivar and storage temperature TGA concentrations were higher at the end of the storage period compared with initial TGA concentrations. During storage TGA concentrations fluctuated widely and gradual accumulation of glycoalkaloids with time was rarely demonstrated except in cv. ‘Desiree’. Tubers stored at 24°C accumulated higher TGA concentrations than those stored at 5°C in cv. ‘Kerrs Pink’ but not in cvs ‘Pentland Hawk’ and ‘Desiree’. Tubers of cv. ‘Kerrs Pink’ exposed to light prior to storage accumulated glycoalkaloids more rapidly than unexposed tubers during storage at 24°C and occasionally at 5°C. Light enhanced glycoalkaloids are not degraded over time.     

Limits to adaptive plasticity: temperature and photoperiod influence shade-avoidance responses

In plants, the ratio of red to far-red wavelengths (R:FR) reliably indicates neighbor proximity and influences stem elongation. Enhanced elongation increases light interception and fitness under crowded conditions. However, many environmental factors vary simultaneously such that responses to R:FR may be affected by abiotic conditions or maternal environmental conditions. This study examines the effects of temperature, photoperiod, and maternal environment on stem-elongation responses to R:FR. Four populations of Abutilon theophrasti (two from disturbed, weedy areas and two from cornfields) were used in factorial common-garden experiments of temperature × R:FR × population and photoperiod × R:FR × population. Seedling growth of greenhouse- and field-derived seed was compared to evaluate maternal effects. Maternal environment did not alter seedling elongation. Higher temperatures resulted in both a twofold increase in average elongation and increased responsiveness to R:FR. Significant three-way interactions in both experiments demonstrate that population responses to R:FR differ depending on temperature and photoperiod conditions. These results indicate that elongation responses to R:FR are more variable than previously realized. The observed variability in elongation also suggests that the outcome of competitive interactions in the natural environment will depend on ambient temperature, photoperiod length, and population origin.