title: Undernutrition during early life alters neuropeptide Y distribution along the arcuate/paraventricular pathway.
abstract: Perinatal nutrient restriction exerts profound influences on brain development. Animals that suffer undernutrition during lactation also display impaired weight gain. Feeding behavior is mainly modulated by neural and hormonal inputs to the hypothalamus. The arcuate-paraventricular neuropeptidergic Y pathway has a prominent role in appetite regulation. The aim of this work was to study the effects of protein undernutrition during lactation on this hypothalamic pathway. We used rats from 5 to 60 postnatal (P) days whose dams were fed a 0% protein diet (PFG) or a normoprotein diet (CG) from P1 to P10. To reproduce the same amount of calorie ingested by the PFG we used an underfed group (UFG). Immunohistochemistry was performed to assess neuropeptide Y (NPY) distribution in the arcuate, periventricular and paraventricular nuclei. Our results showed a NPY immunostaining peak at P10 in all nuclei in CG animals. In UFG animals this peak was observed by P15, while, in the PFG animals only by P20. Our results suggest that the neuropeptidergic arcuate-paraventricular pathway suffered a delay in NPY distribution in undernourished animals, particularly those fed a 0% protein diet, reflecting an effect on this pathway maturation that could explain previously reported alterations on feeding behavior in these animals.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacologia e Psicobiologia, UERJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: M L M
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacologia e Psicobiologia, UERJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas, UERJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Lotufo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas, UERJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Manhães
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacologia e Psicobiologia, UERJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Barradas
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacologia e Psicobiologia, UERJ, Brazil. Electronic address: franktenorio@gmail.com.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tenorio
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000473:pathology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001111:Arcuate Nucleus of Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000502:physiology*; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000473:pathology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000378:metabolism; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000378:metabolism*; D010286:Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D020738:Leptin; D009478:Neuropeptide Y
keywords: 3V; AGRP; ANOVA; ARC; Agouti-related peptide; CART; CG; DMH; ELISA; NADPH; NO; NPY; OpD; P; PBS; PFG; POMC; PVN; Pe; ROI; UFG; VAT; analyses of variance; arcuate nucleus; cocaine/amphetamine-regulated transcript; control group; dorsomedial hypothalamic region; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; feeding behavior; hypothalamus; leptin; neuropeptide Y; nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate; nitric oxide; optical density; paraventricular nucleus; periventricular nucleus; phosphate-buffered saline; postnatal day; pro-opiomelanocortin; protein-free group; rANOVA; region of interest; repeated measures analyses of variance; third ventricle; underfed group; undernutrition; visceral adipose tissue