We examined the effects of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and related peptides on Ca2+ and K+ currents in acutely isolated neurons from the arcuate nucleus of the rat. NPY analogues that activated all of the known NPY receptors (Y1-Y5), produced voltage-dependent inhibition of Ca2+ currents and activation of inwardly rectifying K+ currents in arcuate neurons. Both of these effects could occur simultaneou...

We recently demonstrated that three arcuate nucleus-derived peptides, neuropeptide Y (NPY), agouti-related protein (AGRP), and alphaMSH, are contained in axon terminals that heavily innervate hypophysiotropic TRH neurons in the rat brain and may contribute to the altered set-point of the hypothalamo-pituitary-thyroid axis during fasting. To determine whether a similar regulatory system exists i...

Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript is expressed in hypothalamic regions involved in the central control of food intake. Previous data have implicated cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript as an anorectic peptide. We studied the effect of the active fragment of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript, cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript-(55-102), on feeding whe...

Energy homeostasis is controlled to a large extent by various signals that are integrated in the hypothalamus. It is generally considered that neurons in each of the hypothalamic nuclei are regulated by afferent projections that terminate within the cell body region of the nucleus. However, here it is shown that hypothalamic proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons receive synaptic inputs onto distal...

Maternal obesity influence the child's long-term development and health. Though, the mechanism concerned in this process is still uncertain. In the present study, we explored whether overfeeding of a high-fat diet during pregnancy in female rats altered metabolic phenotypes in an F1 generation and authenticated the contribution of hypothalamic leptin signaling. Leptin responsiveness and the num...