title: Effect of tributyltin on the food intake and brain neuropeptide expression in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tributyltin (TBT) is a largely diffused environmental pollutant. Several studies have demonstrated that TBT is involved in the development of obesity. However, few studies addressing the effects of TBT on the brain neuropeptides involved in appetite and body weight homeostasis have been published.
  
  
  METHODS
  Experiments were carried out on female and male Sprague-Dawley rats. Animals were exposed to TBT (0.5 μg/kg body weight) for 54 days. The hepatic triglyceride and total cholesterol were determined using commercial enzyme kits. The NPY, AgRP, POMC and CART mRNA expression in brains were quantified by real-time PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  TBT exposure resulted in significant increases in the hepatic total cholesterol and triglyceride concentration of both male and female rats. Interestingly, increases in body weight and fat mass were only found in the TBT-treated male rats. TBT exposure also led to a significant increase in food intake by the female rats, while no change was observed in the male rats. Moreover, the neuropeptides expression was different between males and females after TBT exposure. TBT induced brain NPY expression in the female rats, and depressed brain POMC, AgRP and CART expression in the males.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TBT can increase food intake in female rats, which is associated with the disturbance of NPY in brains. TBT had sex-different effects on brain NPY, AgRP, POMC and CART mRNA expression, which indicates a complex neuroendocrine mechanism of TBT.
authors.forename: Keyan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Henan Open Laboratory of key subjects of Environmental and Animal Products Safety, College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Henan, China. jiliang_zhang@126.com.
authors.forename: Jiliang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D054369:Agouti-Related Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000378:metabolism; D011333:Pro-Opiomelanocortin / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014220:Trialkyltin Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000098882:Cocaine- and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript Protein
chemical_list: C515197:AGRP protein, rat; D054369:Agouti-Related Protein; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014220:Trialkyltin Compounds; D000098882:Cocaine- and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript Protein; C090694:neuropeptide Y (1-30); C011559:tributyltin; D011333:Pro-Opiomelanocortin