Immunoreactive corticotropin-releasing hormone levels in discrete hypothalamic nuclei of genetically obese Zucker rats.
The levels of immunoreactive corticotropin-releasing hormone (ir-CRH) were measured in discrete hypothalamic nuclei and the median eminence of obese Zucker rats and their lean littermates. More than 90% of total hypothalamic ir-CRH was detected in the median eminence in both obese and lean rats. Though ir-CRH levels in the paraventricular nucleus of obese rats tended to be lower than those of their lean littermates, no significant difference of ir-CRH levels was observed in any hypothalamic nuclei studied between obese and lean rats. However, ir-CRH levels in the median eminence of obese rats were significantly lower than those of their lean littermates (5263 +/- 438 pg/tissue vs. 7050 +/- 473 pg/tissue, P < 0.05). These results suggest that the hypoactive hypothalamic CRH tonus would play some role in the phenotypic expression of obesity in the genetically obese Zucker rats.
Nakaishi
S
S
Department of Internal Medicine, Kyoto University School of Medicine, Japan.
Nakai
Y
Y
Fukata
J
J
Naito
Y
Y
Usui
T
T
Fukushima
M
M
Jingami
H
H
Nakao
K
K
Imura
H
H
D000818:Animals; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism*; D008473:Median Eminence / Q000378:metabolism; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010641:Phenotype; D051381:Rats; D011924:Rats, Zucker
D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone