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Increased enkephalin in brain of rats prone to overconsuming a fat-rich diet
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Increased enkephalin in brain of rats prone to overconsuming a fat-rich diet

G. -Q. Chang, O. Karatayev, J. R. Barson, S. -Y. Chang and S. F. Leibowitz
Physiology & behavior, v 101(3), pp 360-369
05 Oct 2010
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2010.06.005
PMID: 20603139
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://europepmc.org/articles/pmc2930083View
Accepted (AM) Open Open Access (License Unspecified)

Abstract

Behavioral Sciences Life Sciences & Biomedicine Psychology Psychology, Biological Science & Technology Social Sciences
Recent studies have shown that the opioid enkephalin (ENK), acting in part through the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), can stimulate consumption of a high-fat diet. The objective of the present study was to examine sub-populations of Sprague-Dawley rats naturally prone to overconsuming a high-fat diet and determine whether endogenous ENK, in different brain regions, is altered in these animals and possibly contributes to their behavioral phenotype. An animal model, involving a measure of initial high-fat diet intake during a few days of access that predicts long-term intake, was designed to classify rats at normal weight that are either high-fat consumers (HFC), which ingest 35% more calories of the high-fat than low-fat chow diet, or controls, which consume similar calories of these two diets. Immediately after their initial access to the diet, the HFC compared to control rats exhibited significantly greater expression of ENK mRNA, in the PVN, nucleus accumbens and central nucleus of the amygdala, but not the arcuate nucleus or basolateral amygdala. This site-specific increase in ENK persisted even when the HFC rats were maintained on a chow diet, suggesting that it reflects an inherent characteristic that can be expressed independently of the diet. It was also accompanied by a greater responsiveness of the HFC rats to the stimulatory effect of a PVN-injected, ENK analogue, D-ala2-met-enkephalinamide, compared to saline on consumption of the high-fat diet. Thus, normal-weight rats predicted to overconsume a fat-rich diet exhibit disturbances in endogenous ENK expression and functioning that may contribute to their long-term, behavioral phenotype. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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36 citations in Web of Science
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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being
#2 Zero Hunger

Source: SDGs in the Output

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Web of Science research areas
Behavioral Sciences
Psychology, Biological
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