title: Glucose injection reduces neuropeptide Y and agouti-related protein expression in the arcuate nucleus: a possible physiological role in eating behavior.
abstract: Evidence suggests that neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti-related protein (AgRP) in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) are modulated by glucoregulatory hormones and involved in maintaining normal eating patterns and glucose homeostasis in states of energy deficiency. This study investigated whether these peptides respond to glucose itself under conditions, e.g., before the nocturnal feeding cycle, when carbohydrate stores are low. After removal of food 3 h before dark onset, Sprague-Dawley rats were given a single, intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of saline or 10% glucose (0.13 g/kg) and were sacrificed at different intervals, from 3.5 to 90 min later, for measurements of circulating hormones and metabolites or of NPY and AgRP mRNA in the ARC. With no change in insulin, leptin, or triglycerides, glucose injection produced a 1.8-mM rise in circulating glucose during the first 15 min, followed by a 30-60% reduction in NPY and AgRP mRNA at 30 and 60 min post-injection. A similar effect was observed with intraventricular administration of 5% glucose. At 90 min, however, this suppressive effect of i.p. glucose relative to saline was lost and actually reversed into a 50% increase in NPY and AgRP, possibly attributed to a decline in circulating glucose followed by a 50% rise in corticosterone at 60 min. These biphasic shifts over a 90-min period may reflect mechanisms underlying natural eating patterns at the onset of the nocturnal cycle, when spontaneous meals are approximately 90 min apart and rich in carbohydrate, glucose levels are low, and corticosterone and ARC peptides naturally peak.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Behavioral Neurobiology, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA.
authors.forename: Guo-Qing
authors.initials: GQ
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Karatayev
authors.forename: Zoya
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Davydova
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wortley
authors.forename: Sarah F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Leibowitz
mesh_terms: D054369:Agouti-Related Protein; D000818:Animals; D001111:Arcuate Nucleus of Hypothalamus / Q000187:drug effects*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001786:Blood Glucose; D002452:Cell Count / Q000379:methods; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D005947:Glucose / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017403:In Situ Hybridization / Q000379:methods; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D011859:Radiography / Q000379:methods; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: C515197:AGRP protein, rat; D054369:Agouti-Related Protein; D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D020738:Leptin; D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D011506:Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014280:Triglycerides; D005947:Glucose; D003345:Corticosterone