title: Hypothalamus transcriptome profile suggests an anorexia-cachexia syndrome in the anx/anx mouse model.
abstract: The anx/anx mouse displays poor appetite and lean appearance and is considered a good model for the study of anorexia nervosa. To identify new genes involved in feeding behavior and body weight regulation we performed an expression profiling in the hypothalamus of the anx/anx mice. Using commercial microarrays we detected 156 differentially expressed genes and validated 92 of those using TaqMan low-density arrays. The expression of a set of 87 candidate genes selected based on literature evidences was also quantified by TaqMan low-density arrays. Our results showed enrichment in deregulated genes involved in cell death, cell morphology, and cancer, as well as an alteration of several signaling circuits involved in energy balance including neuropeptide Y and melanocortin signaling. The expression profile along with the phenotype led us to conclude that anx/anx mice resemble the anorexia-cachexia syndrome typically observed in cancer, infection with human immunodeficiency virus or chronic diseases, rather than starvation, and that anx/anx mice could be considered a good model for the treatment and investigation of this condition.
authors.affiliation: Genes and Disease Program, Center for Genomic Regulation CRG-UPF, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep Maria
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mercader
authors.forename: Juan José
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lozano
authors.forename: Lauro
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sumoy
authors.forename: Mara
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dierssen
authors.forename: Joana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Visa
authors.forename: Mònica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gratacòs
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Estivill
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000855:Anorexia / Q000235:genetics*; D002100:Cachexia / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005838:Genotype; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013577:Syndrome