Effects of age and strain on the expression of leptin receptor, neuropeptide Y and pro-opiomelanocortin in the hypothalamus of young chickens.
1. An experiment was conducted to study changes in the expression of the hypothalamic leptin receptor, neuropeptide Y (NPY) and proopiomelanocortin (POMC) with age during the early neonatal period in two different strains of chickens: Beijing-You (BY) and Arbor Acres (AA). 2. Compared with BY chickens, AA chickens ate more, and grew faster. Hypothalamic NPY concentrations of both strains increased with age until d 7 followed by a decline. Hypothalamic NPY of BY chickens on d 7 was lower than in AA chickens at the same age. 3. No difference with age was observed in hypothalamic α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) of BY chickens, while hypothalamic α-MSH in AA chickens on d 0 was higher than on the other days. Compared with AA chickens, BY chickens showed lower hypothalamic α-MSH on d 0. 4. Similar developmental changes between two strains were observed in the expression of leptin receptor, NPY or POMC genes in the hypothalamus. Hypothalamic mRNA of leptin receptor on d 0 was higher than on d 1 and 7. Unlike NPY, hypothalamic NPY mRNA on d 0 was higher than on the other days. 5. Hypothalamic POMC mRNA decreased gradually with age until 7 d followed by a slight increase. 6. The results showed that the developmental changes of hypothalamic signal molecules varied with age and strain. NPY, α-MSH and leptin receptor might be involved in the early programming of feed intake in newly hatched chickens.
Mineral Nutrition Research Division, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
J X
JX
Huang
L
L
Lu
L
L
Xi
X G
XG
Luo
B
B
Liu
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D030161:Avian Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001835:Body Weight; D002645:Chickens / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011333:Pro-Opiomelanocortin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D054411:Receptors, Leptin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D030161:Avian Proteins; D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D054411:Receptors, Leptin; D011333:Pro-Opiomelanocortin