Imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) of neuropeptides in crustacean neuronal tissues was performed on a MALDI-TOF/TOF instrument. Sample preparation protocols were developed for the sensitive detection of these highly complex endogenous signaling molecules. The neuromodulatory complements of the pericardial organ (PO) and brain of the Jonah crab, Cancer borealis, were mapped. Distributions of peptid...

Leptin is a critical regulator of metabolism, which acts on brain receptors (Lepr) to reduce energy intake and increase energy expenditure. Some of the cellular pathways mediating leptin's anorectic actions are identified, but those mediating the thermogenic effects have proven more difficult to decipher. We define a population of neurons in the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus (DMH) containing...

The myosuppressin (MS) gene was cloned from a central nervous system (CNS) cDNA library of the hematophagous insect Rhodnius prolixus and is predicted to contain two introns and three exons. The mRNA transcribed from the myosuppressin gene encodes an 88 amino acid prepropeptide, which results in a mature decapeptide after post-translational modification. When compared with the myosuppressins is...

Arginine-phenylalanine-amide (RFamide)-related peptides known as neuropeptide VF (NPVF) have a crucial role in feeding regulation. The present study purposed to determine the effect of intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection NPVF on dietary intake and possible interactions with glutamate opioid systems broiler chicken. In experiment 1, chickens received ICV administration control solution, (16 ...

Whereas it is well established that chronic stress induces female reproductive dysfunction, whether stress negatively impacts fertility and fecundity when applied prior to mating and pregnancy has not been explored. In this study, we show that stress that concludes 4 days prior to mating results in persistent and marked reproductive dysfunction, with fewer successful copulation events, fewer pr...

Neuropeptide FF (NPFF) is an octapeptide belonging to the RFamide family of peptides that have been implicated in a wide variety of physiological functions in the brain including central cardiovascular and neuroendocrine regulation. The effects of these peptides are mediated via NPFF1 and NPFF2 receptors that are abundantly expressed in the rat and human brain. Herein, we review evidence for th...

Physical and psychological stressors suppress hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis activity and sexual behavior and consequently induce reproductive dysfunction. Recently, it has been shown that gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH), also called RFamide-related peptide 3 (RFRP) in mammals, which is a potent inhibitory regulator of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and gonadotropin, is invol...

In vertebrates, peripheral chemosensory neurons express large families of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), reflecting the diversity and specificity of stimuli they detect. However, somatosensory neurons, which respond to chemical, thermal, or mechanical stimuli, are more broadly tuned. Here we describe a family of approximately 50 GPCRs related to Mas1, called mrgs, a subset of which is exp...