HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (10) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kas, M. J H Articles by Adan, R. A H Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kas, M. J H Articles by Adan, R. A H

Department of Pharmacology and Anatomy, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Universiteitsweg 100, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
¹ Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
² Department of Molecular Cell Physiology, Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

(Requests for offprints should be addressed to M J H Kas; Email: m.j.h.kas{at}med.uu.nl)

Stress affects eating behaviour in rodents and humans, suggesting that the regulation of energy balance and the stress response are coupled physiological processes. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti-related protein (AgRP) are potent food-stimulating neuropeptides that are highly co-localised in arcuate nucleus neurons of the hypothalamus. Recent studies have shown that NPY and AgRP mRNA levels in these neurons respond similarly to fasting and leptin, indicating functional redundancy of the neuropeptide systems in these orexigenic neurons. However, we have found that NPY and AgRP mRNA expression in arcuate nucleus neurons are dissociated immediately following a stressful event. Two hours following a brief session of inescapable foot shocks, AgRP mRNA levels are down-regulated (P < 0.0001). In contrast, NPY mRNA levels are up-regulated (P < 0.0001). To provide physiological relevance for this acute down-regulation of AgRP, an inverse agonist of melanocortin receptors, we have shown that acute intracerebroventricular injection of a melanocortin receptor agonist, -melanocyte-stimulating hormone (-MSH), caused a significantly stronger activation of the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal-cortical (HPA) axis following a stressful event than in controls. Thus, AgRP and NPY mRNA levels in similar arcuate nucleus neurons are differentially regulated following a stressful event. This may contribute to increased sensitivity for -MSH to activate the HPA axis following a repeated stressful experience.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. J. Kojima, S. J. Jenkins, T. A. Cooper, M. P. Roberts, J. A. Carroll, and H. G. Kattesh Effects of syndyphalin-33 on feed intake and circulating measures of growth hormone, cortisol, and immune cell populations in the recently weaned pig J Anim Sci, October 1, 2009; 87(10): 3218 - 3225. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. L. Dimitrov, M. R. DeJoseph, M. S. Brownfield, and J. H. Urban Involvement of Neuropeptide Y Y1 Receptors in the Regulation of Neuroendocrine Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone Neuronal Activity Endocrinology, August 1, 2007; 148(8): 3666 - 3673. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]