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Query: UMLS:C0020505 (hyperphagia)
 6,116 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Prolactin stimulates the growth and development of specialized epithelial cells lining the cropsac of pigeons and doves (family Columbidae), leading to formation of "cropmilk," which is fed to the newly hatched squab. This system of milk feeding is unique among birds. To support the feeding of cropmilk, a complex array of behavioral adaptations are also supported by high levels of prolactin secretion in columbids during parenting. These specializations include elevated food intake (hyperphagia), nest attendance, and regurgitation feeding of the squab. Although prolactin is clearly important for these behavioral adaptations, the precise physiological and mechanistic bases for these behavioral effects remain controversial. The molecular mechanisms of prolactin action in the cropsac epithelium have been studied by cloning prolactin-induced genes, by cloning and expressing the pigeon prolactin receptor, and by analyzing the transcription factors that are activated after prolactin treatment. The avian (pigeon) prolactin receptor is a member of the cytokine receptor superfamily and uniquely contains a complete duplication of the extracellular ligand-binding domain. One of the early signal-transducing actions of prolactin in cropsac epithelium is the activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins via tyrosine phosphorylation. This fundamental signaling pathway is shared with mammalian prolactin target tissues. The convergent evolution of milk feeding and the behaviors that support parenting in columbids and mammals has depended on adaptation of both conserved mechanisms and divergent physiological processes.
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PMID:Regulation of pigeon cropmilk secretion and parental behaviors by prolactin. 852 18

Hyperprolactinemia occurs during gestation and lactation with marked hyperphagia associated with leptin resistance. Prolactin (PRL) induces the expression of orexigenic neuropeptide Y (NPY) in hypothalamic dorsomedial nucleus (DMH) leading to hyperphagia. Along this line prolactin receptor deficient (PRLR-/-) mice are resistant to obesity under high fat diet due to increased energy expenditure. As these mice have an altered food intake, our objective was to test whether leptin is responsible for these characteristics. PRLR-/- male mice and control littermates were injected subcutaneously every other day with 12 mg/kg pegylated superactive mouse leptin antagonist (PEG-SMLA) for 3 weeks. We tested the effect of PEG-SMLA on body weight, food intake and metabolic parameters. The antagonist led to a rapid increase in body weight (20%) but increased adipose mass in PEG-SMLA treated mice was less pronounced in PRLR-/- than in WT mice. Food intake of PEG-SMLA-injected animals increased during the first week period of the experiment but then declined to a similar level of the control animals during the second week. Interestingly, PRLR-/- mice were found to have the same bone volume than those of control mice although PEG-SMLA increased bone mass by 7% in both strains. In addition, PEG-SMLA led to insulin resistance and glucose intolerance as well as an altered lipid profile in treated mice. Altogether, these results suggest that PRLR-/- mice respond to leptin antagonist similarly to the control mice, indicating no interaction between the actions of the two hormones.
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PMID:Effects of high affinity leptin antagonist on prolactin receptor deficient male mouse. 2466 51

Prolactin and placental lactogens control mammary development and lactation as well as play an important role in maternal behaviors. However, the molecular mechanisms in the brain responsible for this regulation remain largely unknown. Therefore, the present study investigated whether Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 5 (STAT5) signaling in the brain, the key transcriptional factor recruited by prolactin receptor and other hormones, is required for postpartum maternal behavior, maintenance of lactation and offspring growth. Neuronal ablation of STAT5 impaired the control of prolactin secretion and reduced the hypothalamic expression of suppressors of cytokine signaling (i.e., SOCS3 and CISH). In addition, neuronal STAT5 deletion attenuated the hyperphagia commonly observed during lactation by decreasing the hypothalamic expression of orexigenic neurotransmitters such as the neuropeptide Y and agouti-related protein. The lower food intake of lactating neuron-specific STAT5 knockout females resulted in reduced milk production and offspring growth. Unexpectedly, postpartum maternal behavior expression was not impaired in neuron-specific STAT5 knockout females. On the contrary, the latency to retrieve and group the pups into the nest was reduced in mutant dams. Finally, we demonstrated that approximately 30% of recorded neurons in the medial preoptic area were acutely depolarized by prolactin suggesting that fast STAT5-independent signaling pathways may be involved in the regulation of maternal behaviors. Overall, our results revealed important information about the molecular mechanisms recruited by hormones to orchestrate the activation of neural circuitries engaged in the induction of maternal care.
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PMID:Neuronal STAT5 signaling is required for maintaining lactation but not for postpartum maternal behaviors in mice. 2589 18