Rats made cirrhotic by chronic CCl4 treatment still exhibit anticipatory activity to a restricted feeding schedule.
Food entrainment of clock genes in the liver suggests that this organ may underlie a food entrained oscillator (FEO), which manifests under restricted feeding schedule (RFS). In order to test the importance of a functional liver for the expression of FEO, chronic CCl4-treated cirrhotic rats and oil-treated controls were entrained to RFS and drinking behavior was continuously monitored. After 20 d of free-running conditions, food access was restricted to 2 h, followed by a refeeding-fasting protocol to test persistence of anticipatory drinking. Present data show no differences between groups for the onset and intensity of anticipation during RFS. After RFS, however, cirrhotic rats exhibited a significantly longer free-running period and a delay and lower intensity of the persistence of activity under fasting conditions. Histology confirmed injury of the liver chronically treated with CCl4. Present data indicate that a dysfunctional liver due to chronic CCl4 does not prevent animals from exhibiting anticipatory activity but may promote metabolic derangement of the clock mechanisms of the suprachiasmatic nucleus and the FEO.
Escobar
Carolina
C
Departamento de Anatomía, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF 04510, México. cescobar@ifisiol.unam.mx
Mendoza
Jorge Y
JY
Salazar-Juárez
Alberto
A
Avila
José
J
Hernández-Muñoz
Rolando
R
Díaz-Muñoz
Mauricio
M
Aguilar-Roblero
Raúl
R
D000818:Animals; D001683:Biological Clocks / Q000502:physiology; D001835:Body Weight; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride / Q000633:toxicity*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D004327:Drinking Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005215:Fasting; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D008106:Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride