1. |
- Fredriksson, Robert, et al.
(author)
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The polyamine transporter Slc18b1(VPAT) is important for both short and long time memory and for regulation of polyamine content in the brain.
- 2019
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In: PLOS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 15:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- SLC18B1 is a sister gene to the vesicular monoamine and acetylcholine transporters, and the only known polyamine transporter, with unknown physiological role. We reveal that Slc18b1 knock out mice has significantly reduced polyamine content in the brain providing the first evidence that Slc18b1 is functionally required for regulating polyamine levels. We found that this mouse has impaired short and long term memory in novel object recognition, radial arm maze and self-administration paradigms. We also show that Slc18b1 KO mice have altered expression of genes involved in Long Term Potentiation, plasticity, calcium signalling and synaptic functions and that expression of components of GABA and glutamate signalling are changed. We further observe a partial resistance to diazepam, manifested as significantly lowered reduction in locomotion after diazepam treatment. We suggest that removal of Slc18b1 leads to reduction of polyamine contents in neurons, resulting in reduced GABA signalling due to long-term reduction in glutamatergic signalling.
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2. |
- Goldkuhl, Renée, et al.
(author)
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Impact of Surgical Severity and Analgesic Treatment on Plasma Corticosterone in Rats during Surgery
- 2010
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In: European Surgical Research. - : S. Karger AG. - 0014-312X .- 1421-9921. ; 44:2, s. 117-123
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Tissue injury and anaesthesia during surgery induce a stress response associated with increased glucocorticoid secretion from the adrenal glands. This response alters the normal physiology and may cause postoperative morbidity, as well as affect the results during acute experiments. The aim of the present investigation was to study the effect of surgical severity and analgesic treatment on circulating corticosterone in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Male rats were treated with either lidocaine infiltrated during surgery, buprenorphine (0.05 or 0.1 mg/kg subcutaneously) or saline subcutaneously. Each treatment group was subjected to either arterial catheterisation or arterial catheterisation and laparotomy. A catheter was inserted in the common carotid artery and blood was collected during surgery and during anaesthesia 6 h after surgery. Lidocaine treatment reduced the corticosterone levels compared to saline treatment after catheterisation but not after laparotomy. Buprenorphine treatment reduced the corticosterone levels during the first hour after surgery after both catheterisation and laparotomy. The higher buprenorphine dose led to an earlier and more pronounced reduction, especially after laparotomy. In the present study, the corticosterone response during surgery in laboratory rats is correlated with the severity of the procedure, and buprenorphine reduces the surgical stress response more effectively than lidocaine treatment.
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3. |
- Klockars, Anica, 1985-, et al.
(author)
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Leucine changes reward-related gene expression and neuronal activity in the hypothalamus and nucleus accumbens
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The branched-chain amino acid leucine has been shown to have satiating effects when administered centrally. However, studies on how oral administration of leucine affects appetite shown disparate effects ranging from orexigenic to anorexigenic. To shed more light on the effects of ingested leucine on the components of the forebrain circuitry that govern feeding for hunger versus reward, we studied changes in c-Fos immunoreactivity (IR) immediately after 2-h 1.5 w/v % leucine vs water exposure and used qPCR to analyze relevant feeding-related gene transcripts in mice consuming leucine for 48 h.Leucine caused an increase in c-Fos IR in the arcuate nucleus and a decrease in the paraventricular nucleus whereas a trend towards an increase was detected in the nucleus accumbens shell. We found an increased expression of the µ-opioid receptor (MOR) in the Acb and δ-opioid receptor mRNA in the hypothalamus. Furthermore, expression of anorexigenic genes cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART), oxytocin (OXY) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) was downregulated in the Acb, and CRH expression was elevated in the hypothalamus of mice fed with leucine. Our results indicate that ingested leucine affects both the hunger- and reward-related circuits, which likely underlies the mixed orexigenic and anorexigenic outcomes of this amino acid’s consumption.
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4. |
- Klockars, Anica, 1985-
(author)
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Non-caloric regulation of food intake
- 2014
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Food intake is shaped by environmental, endocrine, metabolic, and reward-related signals. A change in appetite is an outcome of integration of the relevant external and internal stimuli. While the main purpose of eating is to reverse a negative energy balance, mechanisms protecting homeostasis change appetite for other reasons. This thesis examines the role of select brain mechanisms in regulating consumption driven by aspects other than energy.In paper I, an increased percentage of c-Fos positive OT neurons was observed after mice ingested sucrose, while no change was found after Intralipid intake. Given a choice between isocaloric sugar and Intralipid solutions, mice injected with an OT receptor antagonist increase their preference for sucrose, while total calorie intake remains unchanged, suggesting that OT prevents overconsumption of sugar.Paper II addresses whether MCH, which has anxiolytic properties and mediates reward-motivated feeding, has the ability to alleviate conditioned taste aversion in rats. We found that while mRNA expression of MCH and its receptor are changed in aversive animals, central injections of MCH do not prevent the acquisition of aversion, nor do they affect the rate of extinction of the taste aversion.Paper III describes evidence that the N/OFQ system facilitates food intake by alleviating aversive responsiveness. Blocking the NOP receptor delays extinction of aversion and reduces food intake in hungry rats.Paper IV reports that leucine ingestion increases mRNA expression levels of genes known to mediate reward, as well as orexigenic gene expression in the nucleus accumbens (Nacc), a key component of the reward circuit. Adding leucine to drinking water increases activity of the reward system, which possibly contributes to the pleasure of consumption.A separate approach using Drosophila melanogaster is introduced in paper V which provides evidence that knocking down the gene for the transcription factor Ets96B during development results in a simultaneous disruption in sleep patterns and appetite, thus highlighting the interplay between these physiological parameters.We conclude that OT, MCH, N/OFQ and Ets96B belong to mechanisms regulating food intake for reasons other than energy balance. Composition of food and negative associations with diets affect neural networks controlling appetite.
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5. |
- Klockars, Anica, et al.
(author)
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Scientific yellow journalism
- 2012
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In: Small GTPases. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2154-1248 .- 2154-1256. ; 3:4, s. 201-
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)
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6. |
- Klockars, Anica, 1985-, et al.
(author)
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The Drosophila ETV5 homologue Ets96B modulates feeding behavior
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have linked the PEA3-family member ets variant 5 (ETV5) to BMI and obesity, yet how this gene regulates metabolic homeostasis is still not clear. The PEA3-family was found to be remarkably conserved and present in species from Drosophila melanogaster to humans. The Drosophila PEA3-family homologue Ets96B is expressed in both the larval and adult central nervous system and, similar to mammalian ETV5, is highly expressed in the testis. In the current study we demonstrate that the obesity-linked homologue Ets96B regulates feeding behavior, as well as lipid storage in adult flies. Furthermore, we demonstrate this is a developmental phenotype. Of notable interest, when Ets96B was knocked down in the entire CNS or specifically in Ets96B expressing cells from embryogenesis, feeding behavior and lipid storage phenotypes were observed; yet when Ets96B was specifically knocked down in the adult CNS there was no effect on feeding, while an opposite effect on lipid storage was revealed. From these data we speculate that loss of Ets96B may disrupt CNS development, leading to metabolic homeostatic phenotypes.
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7. |
- Mitra, Anaya, et al.
(author)
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Chronic sugar intake dampens feeding-related activity of neurons synthesizing a satiety mediator, oxytocin
- 2010
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In: Peptides. - : Elsevier BV. - 0196-9781 .- 1873-5169. ; 31:7, s. 1346-1352
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Increased tone of orexigens mediating reward occurs upon repeated consumption of sweet foods. Interestingly, some of these reward orexigens, such as opioids, diminish activity of neurons synthesizing oxytocin, a nonapeptide that promotes satiety and feeding termination. It is not known, however, whether consumption-related activity of the central oxytocin system is modified under chronic sugar feeding reward itself. Therefore, we examined how chronic consumption of a rewarding high-sucrose (HS) vs. bland cornstarch (CS) diet affected the activity of oxytocin cells in the hypothalamus at the time of meal termination. Schedule-fed (2h/day) rats received either a HS or CS powdered diet for 20 days. On the 21st day, they were given the same or the opposite diet, and food was removed after the main consummatory activity was completed. Animals were perfused 60 min after feeding termination and brains were immunostained for oxytocin and the marker of neuronal activity, c-Fos. The percentage of c-Fos-positive oxytocin cells in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus was significantly lower in rats chronically exposed to the HS than to the CS diet, regardless of which diet they received on the final day. A similar pattern was observed in the supraoptic nucleus. We conclude that the chronic rather than acute sucrose intake reduces activity of the anorexigenic oxytocin system. These findings indicate that chronic consumption of sugar blunts activity of pathways that mediate satiety. We speculate that a reduction in central satiety signaling precipitated by regular intake of foods high in sugar may lead to generalized overeating.
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8. |
- Mitra, Anaya, et al.
(author)
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Expression levels of genes encoding melanin concentrating hormone (MCH) and MCH receptor change in taste aversion, but MCH injections do not alleviate aversive responses
- 2012
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In: Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior. - : Elsevier BV. - 0091-3057 .- 1873-5177. ; 100:3, s. 581-586
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Melanin concentrating hormone (MCH) stimulates feeding driven by energy needs and reward and modifies anxiety behavior. Orexigenic peptides of similar characteristics, including nociceptin/orphanin FQ Agouti-related protein and opioids, increase consumption also by reducing avoidance of potentially tainted food in animals displaying a conditioned taste aversion (CTA). Herein, using real-time PCR, we assessed whether expression levels of genes encoding MCH and its receptor, MCHR1, were affected in CTA in the rat. We also investigated whet her injecting MCH intracerebroventricularly (ICV) during the acquisition and retrieval of LiCl-induced CTA, would alleviate aversive responses. MCHR1 gene was upregulated in the hypothalamus and brain stem of aversive animals. MCH mRNA was significantly higher in the hypothalamus, whereas a strong trend suggesting upregulation of MCH and MCHR1 genes was detected in the amygdala. Despite these expression changes associated with aversion, MCH injected prior to the induction of CTA with LiCl as well as later, during the CTA retrieval upon subsequent presentations of the aversive tastant, did not reduce the magnitude of CTA. We conclude that MCH and its receptor form an orexigenic system whose expression is affected in CTA. This altered MCH expression may contribute to tastant-targeted hypophagia in CTA. However, changing the MCH tone in the brain by exogenous peptide was insufficient to prevent the onset or facilitate extinction of Lid-induced CTA. This designates MCH as one of many accessory molecules associated with shaping an aversive response, but not a critical one for LiCl-dependent CFA to occur.
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9. |
- Olszewski, Pawel K, et al.
(author)
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Central nociceptin/orphanin FQ system elevates food consumption by both increasing energy intake and reducing aversive responsiveness
- 2010
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In: American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology. - : American Physiological Society. - 0363-6119 .- 1522-1490. ; 299:2, s. R655-R663
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ), the nociceptin opioid peptide (NOP) receptor ligand, increases feeding when injected centrally. Initial data suggest that N/OFQ blocks the development of a conditioned taste aversion (CTA). The current project further characterized the involvement of N/OFQ in the regulation of hunger vs. aversive responses in rats by employing behavioral, immunohistochemical, and real-time PCR methodology. We determined that the same low dose of the NOP antagonist [Nphe(1)]N/OFQ(1-13)NH(2) delivered via the lateral ventricle diminishes both N/OFQ- and deprivation-induced feeding. This anorexigenic effect did not stem from aversive consequences, as the antagonist did not cause the development of a CTA. When [Nphe(1)]N/OFQ(1-13)NH(2) was administered with LiCl, it moderately delayed extinction of the LiCl-induced CTA. Injection of LiCl + antagonist compared with LiCl alone generated an increase in c-Fos immunoreactivity in the central nucleus of the amygdala. The antagonist alone elevated Fos immunoreactivity in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, nucleus of the solitary tract, and central nucleus of the amygdala. Hypothalamic NOP mRNA levels were decreased during energy intake restriction induced by aversion, as well as in non-CTA rats food-restricted to match CTA-reduced consumption. Brain stem NOP was upregulated only in aversion. Prepro-N/OFQ mRNA showed a trend toward upregulation in restricted rats (P = 0.068). We conclude that the N/OFQ system promotes feeding by affecting the need to replenish lacking calories and by reducing aversive responsiveness. It may belong to mechanisms that shift a balance between the drive to ingest energy and avoidance of potentially tainted food.
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10. |
- Olszewski, Pawel K., et al.
(author)
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Fto immunoreactivity is widespread in the rodent brain and abundant in feeding-related sites, but the number of Fto-positive cells is not affected by changes in energy balance
- 2011
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In: Physiology and Behavior. - : Elsevier BV. - 0031-9384 .- 1873-507X. ; 103:2, s. 248-253
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A single nucleotide polymorphism in the FTO gene is associated with obesity in humans. Evidence gathered in animals mainly relates energy homeostasis to the central FTO mRNA levels, but our knowledge of the Fto protein distribution and regulation is limited. Fto, a demethylase and transcriptional coactivator, is thought to regulate expression of other genes. Herein, we examined Fto immunoreactivity (IR) in the mouse and rat brain with emphasis on sites governing energy balance. We also studied whether energy status affects central Fto IR. We report that Fto IR, limited to nuclear profiles, is widespread in the brain, in- and outside feeding circuits; it shows a very similar distribution in feeding-related sites in mice and rats. Several areas regulating energy homeostasis display enhanced intensity of Fto staining: the arcuate, paraventricular, supraoptic, dorsomedial, ventromedial nuclei, and dorsal vagal complex. Some regions mediating feeding reward, including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, have ample Fto IR. We found that differences in energy status between rats fed ad libitum, deprived or refed following deprivation, did not affect the number of Fto-positive nuclei in 10 sites governing consumption for energy or reward. We conclude that Fto IR, widespread in the rodent brain, is particularly abundant in feeding circuits, but the number of Fto-positive neurons is unaffected by changes in energy balance.
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