title: Withdrawal of dietary phytoestrogens in adult male rats affects hypothalamic regulation of food intake, induces obesity and alters glucose metabolism.
abstract: The absence of phytoestrogens in the diet during pregnancy has been reported to result in obesity later in adulthood. We investigated whether phytoestrogen withdrawal in adult life could alter the hypothalamic signals that regulate food intake and affect body weight and glucose homeostasis. Male Wistar rats fed from conception to adulthood with a high phytoestrogen diet were submitted to phytoestrogen withdrawal by feeding a low phytoestrogen diet, or a high phytoestrogen-high fat diet. Withdrawal of dietary phytoestrogens increased body weight, adiposity and energy intake through an orexigenic hypothalamic response characterized by upregulation of AGRP and downregulation of POMC. This was associated with elevated leptin and T4, reduced TSH, testosterone and estradiol, and diminished hypothalamic ERα expression, concomitant with alterations in glucose tolerance. Removing dietary phytoestrogens caused manifestations of obesity and diabetes that were more pronounced than those induced by the high phytoestrogen-high fat diet intake.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica y Cuantitativa, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina; Laboratorio de Endocrinología y Tumores Hormonodependientes, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina.
authors.forename: María Florencia
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Andreoli
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica y Cuantitativa, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina; Laboratorio de Endocrinología y Tumores Hormonodependientes, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina.
authors.forename: Cora
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stoker
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica y Cuantitativa, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina; Laboratorio de Endocrinología y Tumores Hormonodependientes, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina.
authors.forename: María Florencia
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Rossetti
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Neuroendocrinología, Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular IMBICE (CONICET-CICPBA), La Plata, Argentina.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alzamendi
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Neuroendocrinología, Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular IMBICE (CONICET-CICPBA), La Plata, Argentina.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Castrogiovanni
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Endocrinología y Tumores Hormonodependientes, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina.
authors.forename: Enrique H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Luque
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica y Cuantitativa, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina; Laboratorio de Endocrinología y Tumores Hormonodependientes, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina. Electronic address: gramos@fbcb.unl.edu.ar.
authors.forename: Jorge Guillermo
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Ramos
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology*; D048789:Phytoestrogens / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D048789:Phytoestrogens
keywords: Glucose metabolism; Hypothalamus; Obesity; Phytoestrogens