Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6
pubmed:dateCreated
2010-6-29
pubmed:abstractText
Many vertebrates express profound annual cycles of body fattening, although it is not clear whether these represent differential activity of the central pathways known to mediate homeostatic control of food intake and energy expenditure, or whether the recent discovery of a major role for pars tuberalis-ependymal signalling points towards novel mechanisms. We examined this in the Siberian hamster (Phodopus sungorus) by using gene transfection to up-regulate a major orexigenic peptide, agouti-related peptide (AgRP), and then determined whether this increased anabolic drive could prevent the short-day induced winter catabolic state. Infusions of a recombinant adeno-associated virus encoding an AgRP construct into the hypothalamus of hamsters in the long-day obese phase of their seasonal cycle produced a 20% gain in body weight over 6 weeks compared to hamsters receiving a control reporter construct, reflecting a significant increase in food intake and a significant decrease in energy expenditure. However, all hamsters showed a significant, prolonged decrease in body weight when exposed to short photoperiods, despite the hamsters expressing the AgRP construct maintaining a higher food intake and lower energy expenditure relative to the control hamsters. Visualisation of the green fluorescent protein reporter and analysis of AgRP-immunoreactivity confirmed widespread expression of the construct in the hypothalamus, which was maintained for the 21-week duration of the study. In conclusion, the over-expression of AgRP in the hypothalamus produced a profoundly obese state but did not block the seasonal catabolic response, suggesting a separation of rheostatic mechanisms in seasonality from those maintaining homeostasis of energy metabolism.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jun
pubmed:issn
1365-2826
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:volume
22
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
564-75
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2010
pubmed:articleTitle
Short-days induce weight loss in Siberian hamsters despite overexpression of the agouti-related peptide gene.
pubmed:affiliation
School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Nottingham Medical School, Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't