title: Proteins activate satiety-related neuronal pathways in the brainstem and hypothalamus of rats.
abstract: Our objective was to study the relationship between the satiety induced by high-protein meals and the activation of brain areas involved in the onset of satiety. In rats, we used immunohistochemistry to monitor brain centers activated by a meal by receiving information from the gastrointestinal tract or via humoral pathways. In the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), the acute or chronic intake of high-protein meals led to increased activation of the noradrenergic/adrenergic neurons involved in cholecystokinin-induced satiety. In the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus, the melanocortin pathway was also more strongly activated after the acute or chronic intake of high-protein meals. Moreover, the glucagon-like peptide 1 pathway arising from the NTS, which is triggered, among other behaviors, during nonphysiological anorexia, was not activated by high-protein meals, supporting the lack of aversive behavior associated with this diet. Taken together, these results show that the ability of high-protein meals to inhibit food intake occurs alongside the activation, in nutrient-sensitive brain areas, of several specific neuronal populations involved in satiety.
authors.affiliation: UMR914 Nutrition Physiology and Ingestive Behavior, INRA, AgroParisTech, CRNH-IdF, F-75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Rodolphe
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Faipoux
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tomé
authors.forename: Sylvette
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gougis
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Darcel
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fromentin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012527:Satiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D004044:Dietary Proteins