The present study was undertaken to determine whether neuropeptide Y (NPY) induces proliferation of rat aortic endothelial cells (RAECs). Since NPY increased the permeability of RAEC monolayers to large molecules via the NPY Y(3) receptor, RAEC proliferation has been evaluated in terms of NPY-receptor subtypes and also intracellular mechanisms. RAECs were incubated with gases containing 20, 15,...

NPY is an important central orexigenic hormone, but little is known about its peripheral actions in human adipose tissue (AT) or its potential paracrine effects. Our objective was to examine NPY's role in AT, specifically addressing NPY protein expression, the effect of NPY on adipokine secretion, and the influence of insulin and rosiglitazone (RSG) on adipocyte-derived NPY in vitro. Ex vivo hu...

Neuropeptide Y (NPY), a peptide synthesized in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus, is implicated in the physiologic control of food intake and body weight. Because both genetic (e.g. in obese ob/ob mice) and acquired leptin deficiency (e.g. fasting in normal mice) increase hypothalamic NPY accumulation, and as leptin administration reverses this effect, we hypothesized that leptin inhibits transc...

Sympathetic nerves have long been suspected of trophic activity, but the nature of their angiogenic factor has not been determined. Neuropeptide Y (NPY), a sympathetic cotransmitter, is the most abundant peptide in the heart and the brain. It is released during nerve activation and ischemia and causes vasoconstriction and smooth muscle cell proliferation. Here we report the first evidence that ...

Central administration of neuropeptide Y (NPY) stimulates hyperphagia and hyperinsulinemia. Recent evidence has suggested that the Y1 and Y5 receptor subtypes may both mediate NPY-stimulated feeding. The present study attempts to further characterize the role of central NPY receptor subtypes involved in hyperinsulinemia. NPY and peptide analogs of NPY that selectively activated the NPY Y1 or Y5...

BACKGROUND Neuropeptide Y (NPY) may enhance resilience to chronic stress. Low brain NPY reported in major depression may normalize in response to antidepressants. METHODS In this study, we examined the relationship of reported childhood trauma to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) NPY-like immunoreactivity (NPY-LI) in 61 medication-free major depressive disorder (MDD) patients and 20 matched healthy v...

The chemical coding and projections of neurons containing neuropeptide Y (NPY) have been investigated in the myenteric plexus of the guinea-pig small intestine. Chemical coding was determined by investigating the colocalization of NPY immunoreactivity with the immunoreactivities for bombesin (BN), 5-HT, nitric oxide synthase (NOS), and somatostatin. Projections were determined by studying the c...

NPY and alphaMSH are expressed in distinct neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus, where alphaMSH decreases and NPY increases food intake and body weight. Here we use patch-clamp electrophysiology from GFP-labeled POMC and NPY neurons to demonstrate that NPY strongly hyperpolarized POMC neurons through the Y1R-mediated activation of GIRK channels, while the alphaMSH analog, MTII, ha...

We investigated the properties of neostriatal neuropeptide Y (NPY)-expressing interneurons in transgenic GFP (green fluorescent protein)-NPY reporter mice. In vitro whole-cell recordings and biocytin staining demonstrated the existence of a novel class of neostriatal NPY-expressing GABAergic interneurons that exhibit electrophysiological, neurochemical, and morphological properties strikingly d...