title: Short-term cold exposure may cause a local decrease of neuropeptide Y in the rat hypothalamus.
abstract: Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is an orexigenic and hypothermic peptide. To understand its role in hypothermic conditions, male rats were placed in a 24 degrees C or 4 degrees C air chamber for 1.5 h. The expression of c-Fos protein, and NPY mRNA and protein, was analyzed in the hypothalamus 1 h-2 h later. The cold treatment increased the number of c-Fos-immunoreactive cells in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVN) and arcuate nucleus (ARC). At the same time it decreased the density of NPY-immunoreactive components in the PVN, dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus and ARC, as well as of NPY transcripts in the PVN and ARC. No colocalization of c-Fos with NPY was detected. These results suggest that short-term cold exposure should reduce indirectly NPY production in some hypothalamic nuclei to facilitate thermogenesis without inducing feeding behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul 136-705, Korea. parkjj@korea.ac.kr
authors.forename: Joong Jean
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Heung Kyung
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Min Woo
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Sung Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seung Yeon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Noh
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Woo Sung
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001111:Arcuate Nucleus of Hypothalamus / Q000166:cytology; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D004302:Dorsomedial Hypothalamic Nucleus / Q000166:cytology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006339:Heart Rate; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism*; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010286:Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus / Q000166:cytology; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos