title: Zinc status affects neurotransmitter activity in the paraventricular nucleus of rats.
abstract: Alterations in neurochemical activity in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus may account for decreased intake of zinc-deficient diets. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed zinc-deficient (ZD) or zinc-adequate (ZA) diet for 14 d before samples of extracellular fluid in the PVN were collected by microdialysis or push-pull perfusion. A third set of rats was pair-fed (PF) an amount of ZA diet equal to the intake of ZD rats. Samples were collected over a 2-h period spanning the transition from light to dark. All rats then consumed the zinc adequate diet ad libitum for 3 d before a second set of samples was collected. The increase in extracellular norepineprhrine (NE) during h 1 of the dark period to 147 +/- 13% of baseline (P < 0.05) was apparent only in ZA rats at d 14. After the 3-d repletion period, the increase in NE at dark onset occurred in all three groups. An increase in extracellular neuropeptide Y (NPY) at dark onset to 174 +/- 32% of baseline in rats fed ZA (P < 0.01) was measured in all three groups at both d 14 and 17. Basal NPY concentrations were significantly elevated in PF rats on d 14 (7.45 +/- 2.01 vs. 0.58 +/- 0.23 pmol/L, P = 0.01) and returned to ZA levels by d 17. The activities of the NE and NPY systems in the PVN were altered in rats fed a zinc-deficient diet; however, it is unclear whether the disruption in the NE and NPY neural systems in the PVN results in the altered feeding behavior accompanying zinc deficiency.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Carolyn E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Huntington
authors.forename: Neil F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Shay
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grouzmann
authors.forename: Linda M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Arseneau
authors.forename: J Lee
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Beverly
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003624:Darkness; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D017551:Microdialysis; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000378:metabolism*; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism*; D010286:Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D010477:Perfusion; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013997:Time Factors; D015032:Zinc / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000172:deficiency*
chemical_list: D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D015032:Zinc; D009638:Norepinephrine