title: Fasting alters protein expression of AMP-activated protein kinase in the hypothalamus of broiler chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus).
abstract: An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of fasting and re-feeding on hypothalamic 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) levels and (an)orexigenic neuropeptides. Male Arbor Acres chicks (7-day-old, n=160) were allocated to four equal treatment groups: control chicks (fed ad libitum for 48 h, C48), chicks that were fasted for 48 h (F48), chicks that were first fasted for 48 h and then re-fed for 24h (F48C24), and chicks that were fed ad libitum for 72h (C72). Fasting for 48 h significantly (P<0.05) increased the ratio of phosphorylated AMPKα to total AMPKα and phosphorylated LKB1 to total LKB1, whereas re-feeding for 24h reduced these ratios to that of the ad libitum fed C72 chicks. The gene expressions of agouti-related peptide (AgRP), neuropeptide Y (NPY), melanocortin receptor 4, melanin-concentrating hormone, prepro-orexins and carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 were significantly (P<0.05) increased in the fasted chicks relative to the ad libitum fed C48 group. The gene expression of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), as well as cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) was not affected by the nutritional status. Fasting significantly (P<0.05) decreased the mRNA levels of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 (SREBP-1). The results suggest that the LKB1/AMPK signal pathway is involved in the energy homeostasis of fasted chicks, and its possible role in feed intake regulation might be mediated by the AgRP/NPY rather than the POMC/CART pathway.
authors: Division Livestock-Nutrition-Quality, Department of Biosystems, K.U. Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 30, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
authors: Zhigang
authors: Z
authors: Song
authors: Lei
authors: L
authors: Liu
authors: Yunshuang
authors: Y
authors: Yue
authors: Hongchao
authors: H
authors: Jiao
authors: Hai
authors: H
authors: Lin
authors: Ardashir
authors: A
authors: Sheikhahmadi
authors: Nadia
authors: N
authors: Everaert
authors: Eddy
authors: E
authors: Decuypere
authors: Johan
authors: J
authors: Buyse
mesh_terms: D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D005215:Fasting / Q000502:physiology*; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases