Decreased circulating leptin and increased neuropeptide Y gene expression are implicated in food deprivation-induced hyperactivity in striped hamsters, Cricetulus barabensis

Physiological and behavioral adjustments of small mammals are important strategies in response to variations in food availability. Although numerous of studies have been carried out in rodents, behavioral patterns in response to food deprivation and re-feeding (FD–RF) are still inconsistent. Here we examined effects of a 24 h FD followed by RF on general activity, serum leptin concentrations and gene expression of orexigenic and anorexigenic hypothalamic neuropeptides in striped hamsters (Cricetulus barabensis) with/without leptin supplements. The time spent on activity was increased by 2.5 fold in FD hamsters compared with controls fed ad libitum (P < 0.01). Body mass, fat mass as well as serum leptin concentrations were significantly decreased in FD hamsters in comparison with ad libitum controls, which were in parallel with hyperactivity. During re-feeding, leptin concentrations increased rapidly to pre-deprivation levels by 12 h, but locomotor activity decreased gradually and did not return to pre-deprivation levels until 5 days after re-feeding. Leptin administration to FD hamsters significantly attenuated the increased activity. Gene expression of hypothalamic neuropeptide Y (NPY) was upregulated in FD hamsters and fell down to control levels when hamsters were re-fed ad libitum, similar to that observed in activity behavior. Leptin supplement induced increases in serum leptin concentrations (184.1%, P < 0.05) in FD hamsters and simultaneously attenuated the increase in activity (45.8%, P < 0.05) and NPY gene expression (35%, P < 0.05). This may allow us to draw a more generalized conclusion that decreased leptin concentrations function as a starvation signal in animals under food shortage; to induce an increase in activity levels, leading animals to forage and/or migrate, and consequently increasing the chance of survival. Decreased concentrations of serum leptin in animals subjected to food shortage may induce an upregulation of gene expression of hypothalamus NPY, consequently driving a significant increase in foraging behavior.     

Evidence for leptin expression in fishes

Tissues from bony fish were screened with anti-mouse leptin antibodies to detect the presence of the fat-regulating hormone in fishes. Low molecular-weight (16 kDa) immunoreactive bands were detected in blood, brain, heart and liver of green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus), bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), white crappie (Pomonix annularis), channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). To further verify that we had identified leptin, the response of fish "leptin" was measured in fed and fasted green sunfish. Fed sunfish had approximately threefold higher concentration of leptin in blood than did fasted sunfish (fed vs. fasted; 0.599 +/- 0.03 microg/microl vs. 0.196 +/- 0.04 microg/microl; P > F = 0.0001), which is consistent with mammalian models of leptin function. Brain leptin concentration is also positively correlated with percent body fat in white crappie and bluegill. Based upon electrophoretic mobility, immunoreactivity, response to fasting, and correlation with adiposity, we believe we have the first evidence for leptin expression in an ectotherm.     

Regulation of cytoplasmic acetyl-CoA and acetoacetyl-CoA synthetases by dexamethasone phosphate in rat liver and adipose tissue.

The activity of cytoplasmic acetyl-CoA synthetase and acetoacetyl-CoA synthetase in both liver and adipose tissue was measured in five groups of rats : fed, fasted, fasted and re-fed, fasted, re-fed and injected with dexamethasone during the re-feeding period, fed and injected with dexamethasone. Fasting was found to have a strong inhibitory effect on the activity of the two enzymes in both adipose tissue and liver, which could be abolished by re-feeding. In adipose tissue, dexamethasone prevented this re-establishment of normal enzyme activity but was without effect in the liver. It can therefore be concluded that dexamethasone inhibits the synthesis of acetyl-CoA and acetoacetyl-CoA synthetases in adipose tissue.     

Response of the somatotropic axis to alterations in feed intake of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

To better understand the effects of reduced feeding frequency on the GH–IGF-I axis, channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), were either fed (Fed control, commercial diet fed daily), fed every other day (FEOD, commercial diet fed every other day), or not fed (Unfed, no feed). Pituitary GH mRNA increased whereas hepatic growth hormone receptor (GHR), IGF-I mRNA, and plasma IGF-I decreased in the FEOD and Unfed fish (P < 0.05). In another study, fish were either continually fed (Fed) or fasted and then re-fed (Restricted) to examine the physiological regulation of somatostatin-14 (SS-14) and SS-22 mRNA. Fasting increased (P < 0.05) levels of SS-14 mRNA in the hypothalamus and pancreatic islets (Brockmann bodies) at d 30 while re-feeding decreased SS-14 mRNA to control values in all tissues examined by d 45. Fasting had no effect on levels of SS-22 mRNA in the pancreatic islets whereas SS-22 mRNA was not detected in the stomach or hypothalamus. The results demonstrate that feeding every other day has similar negative impacts on components of the GH–IGF-I axis as fasting. The observed increase in SS-14 mRNA in the hypothalamus and pancreatic islets suggests a role for SS-14 in modulating the GH–IGF-I axis in channel catfish.     

Exogenous leptin promotes the recovery of regressed ovary in fasted ducks

The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of administered recombinant mouse leptin on the recovery of regressed ovary in fasted ducks. Twenty-eight ducks were divided into five groups: fed ad libitum (control; n = 5), fasted control (FC; n = 5), fasted + low dose of leptin (F + L; n = 5), fasted + medium dose of leptin (F + M; n = 5) and fasted + high dose of leptin (F + H; n = 3). All four fasted groups were fasted for 2 days and then ad libitum and the ducks were treated with leptin at doses of 0 (control and FC), 50 (F + L), 250 (F + M) and 1000 (F + H) μg/kg body weight/day on day 3–5. Results showed that a moderate dose of leptin (250 μg/kg body weight/day) injected during the re-feeding period: (i) promoted the recovery of the regressed ovary as evidenced by an increase in ovary weight and recovery of yellow hierarchical follicles; (ii) elevated the plasma 17β-estradiol (E₂) level; (iii) increased the mRNA levels of ovary follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR), luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR) and estrogen receptor-β (ER-β). Furthermore, the results also showed that a high dose of leptin (1000 μg/kg body weight/day) may have a negative effect on the recovery of the regressed ovary. In conclusion, this study indicates that, in ducks, leptin may be involved in the recovery of the regressed ovary caused by 2 days of fasting. This effect may be related to increased plasma E₂ levels and stimulation of the mRNA levels of ovarian FSHR, LHR and especially ER-β.     

The red alga Porphyra dioica as a fish-feed ingredient for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): effects on growth, feed efficiency, and carcass composition

Porphyra dioica meal was added at levels of 5, 10 and 15% to a diet for rainbow trout formulated to be isonitrogenous and isolipidic. The control diet was a commercial trout diet without seaweed meal. The experimental groups were fed in triplicate for 12.5 weeks, during which fish weight increased on average from 107–261 g. Seaweed meal inclusion did not affect significantly weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), feed efficiency (FE), protein efficiency ratio (PER) and apparent digestibility coefficient of the dry matter (ADC_dm) for any of the diets. Voluntary feed intake (VFI) increased for all seaweed diets compared to the control diet but not significantly (P?>?0.05). Final weight (FW) was significantly smaller for the 15% P. dioica inclusion and hepatosomatic index (HSI) for the 10% and 15% inclusion. Carcass protein content increased for all three experimental diets, and was significantly higher for the diet with 10% seaweed inclusion. Rainbow trout fed with Porphyra meal presented a dark orange pigmentation of the flesh at the end of the trial, compared to the whitish color from the control fish. These results suggest that P. dioica can effectively be included in diets for rainbow trout up to 10% without significant negative effects on weight gain and growth performance. The pigmentation effect of the fish flesh by adding P. dioica meal to the feed is of a considerable interest to the organic salmon-farming industry.     

Neuromedin U has a physiological role in the regulation of food intake and partially mediates the effects of leptin

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 相似文献   

Comparison of tissue pyruvate dehydrogenase activities on re-feeding rats fed ad libitum or meal-fed rats with a chow-diet meal.

Meal-fed rats and rats fed ad libitum had similar rates of hepatic glycogenesis at 60 min after the initiation of re-feeding a chow meal after 22 h starvation, but hepatic PDHa (active form of pyruvate dehydrogenase) activities were 4-fold higher in the meal-fed group. In heart, PDHa activities were 3-fold higher before re-feeding and 2-fold higher after re-feeding in the meal-fed group compared with the group fed ad lib. The blood metabolite profile suggested diminished fat oxidation in starved meal-fed rats and accelerated flux through PDH in meal-fed re-fed rats compared with the group fed ad lib.     

Selective changes in the protein-turnover rates and nature of growth induced in trout liver by long-term starvation followed by re-feeding

We report upon the effects of a cycle of long-term starvation followed by re-feeding on the liver-protein turnover rates and nature of protein growth in the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). We determined the protein-turnover rate and its relationship with the nucleic-acid concentrations in the livers of juvenile trout starved for 70 days and then re-fed for 9 days. During starvation the total hepatic-protein and RNA contents decreased significantly and the absolute protein-synthesis rate (A_S) also fell, whilst the fractional protein-synthesis rate (K_S) remained unchanged and the fractional protein-degradation rate (K_D) increased significantly. Total DNA content, an indicator of hyperplasia, and the protein:DNA ratio, an indicator of hypertrophy, both fell considerably. After re-feeding for 9 days the protein-accumulation rates (K_G, A_G) rose sharply, as did K_S, A_S, K_D, protein-synthesis efficiency (K_RNA) and the protein-synthesis rate/DNA unit (K_DNA). The total hepatic protein and RNA contents increased but still remained below the control values. The protein:DNA and RNA:DNA ratios increased significantly compared to starved fish. These changes demonstrate the high response capacity of the protein-turnover rates in trout liver upon re-feeding after long-term starvation. Upon re-feeding hypertrophic growth increased considerably whilst hyperplasia remained at starvation levels.     

饥饿对幼年斑马鱼下丘脑摄食相关性神经肽表达的影响

脊椎动物下丘脑中的神经肽Y(Neuropeptide Y, NPY)、GALANIN和GMAP蛋白前体(GALANIN and GMAP prepropeptide, GAL)、Agouti相关蛋白(Agouti related neuropeptide, AGRP)和阿片促黑色素原(Proopiomelanocortin, POMC)与摄食密切相关,但在斑马鱼中对这些神经肽与摄食之间关系的研究较少。本文通过原位杂交技术和实时定量PCR方法,观察饥饿1 d、饥饿2 d和饥饿2 d喂食2 d后斑马鱼下丘脑中npy、galanin、agrp和pomca的表达情况。结果显示,饥饿处理之后,agrp和galanin在斑马鱼下丘脑中的表达量显著上升(P<0.05)。与对照组相比,饥饿2 d后斑马鱼下丘脑中pomca表达量显著下降(P<0.05)。饥饿2 d喂食2 d后斑马鱼下丘脑中pomca、agrp和galanin的表达量与对照组相比没有显著性差异。所有实验中npy在斑马鱼下丘脑中的表达没有显著性差异。这表明饥饿处理促使斑马鱼下丘脑中agrp和galanin表达上调,pomca表达下调;及时摄食可以恢复agrp、galanin和pomca在下丘脑中的表达水平。     

Time-dependent effects of leptin on food intake and locomotor activity in goldfish

The present study investigates the possible circadian dependence of leptin effects on food intake, locomotor activity, glycemia and plasma cortisol levels in goldfish (Carassius auratus). Fish were maintained under 12L:12D photoperiod and subjected to two different feeding schedules, one group fed during photophase (10:00) and the other one during scotophase (22:00). Leptin or saline were intraperitoneally injected at two different times (10:00 or 22:00), coincident or not with the meal time. To eliminate the entraining effect of the light/dark cycle, goldfish maintained under 24 h light (LL) were fed and leptin-injected at 10:00. A reduction in food intake and locomotor activity and an increase in glycemia were found in goldfish fed and leptin-injected at 10:00. No significant changes in circulating cortisol were observed. Those effects were not observed when leptin was administered during the scotophase, regardless the feeding schedule; neither in fish maintained under LL, suggesting that a day/night cycle would be necessary to observe the actions of leptin administered during the photophase. Changes in locomotor activity and glycemia were only observed in goldfish when leptin was injected at daytime, coincident with the feeding schedule, suggesting that these leptin actions could be dependent on the feeding time as zeitgeber. In view of these results it appears that the circadian dependence of leptin actions in goldfish can be determined by the combination of both zeitgebers, light/dark cycle and food. Our results point out the relevance of the administration time when investigating regulatory functions of hormones.