Role of brain catecholaminergic system in hypothalamic obesity in rats.
Distribution of labelled catecholamines (CA) was studied after intraventricular injection of 3H-norepinephrine (NE) and 3H-dihydrozyphenylalanine (DOPA) in several brain regions of ventromedial hypothalamic lesioned female rats. After intraventricular infection of 3H-NE a decrease in endogenous NE content and a marked increase in labelled NE concentration were observed in the preoptic-basal cortical area and lateral hypothalamus, while no change was found in these parameters in brain areas caudal to the lesion. The 3H-DOPA uptake of preoptic-basal cortical area and also the lateral hypothalamus was lower. No change was found in the uptake of 3H-DOPA in the corpus striatum. These results support the hypothesis that the decreased function of noradrenergic pathways in the medial forebrain bundle plays a role in the development of hypothalamic obesity without any concomitant functional changes in the striatal dopaminergic system.
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000378:metabolism*; D004295:Dihydroxyphenylalanine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism*; D007278:Injections, Spinal; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats
D002395:Catecholamines; D004295:Dihydroxyphenylalanine; D009638:Norepinephrine