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Query: UMLS:C0155339 (Brown)
 12,436 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Both growth hormone (GH)/insulin growth factor (IGF)-1 axis and energy balance have been implicated in longevity independently. The aim of the present study was to characterize the effect of a 72-h fasting period at 3 months of age in four different rat strains: (i) Wistar and (ii) Fischer 344 rats, which develop obesity with age, and (iii) Brown Norway and (iv) Lou C rats, which do not. Wistar rats ate more, were significantly bigger, and presented with higher plasma leptin and lower ghrelin levels and hypothalamic growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) content than rats from the three other strains. Plasma insulin and IGF-1 levels were lower in Brown Norway and Lou C rats, and somatostatin content was lower in Brown Norway rats only. Glycaemia was lower in Lou C rats that displayed a lower relative food intake compared to Fischer and Wistar rats. Brown Norway rats showed a greater caloric efficiency than the three other strains. Concerning major hypothalamic neuropeptides implicated in feeding, similar amounts were detected in the four strains for neuropeptide Y, agouti-related peptide, galanin, melanin-concentrating hormone, alpha-melanocortin-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) and corticotropin-releasing hormone. Orexin A appeared to be slightly elevated in Fischer rats and cocaine amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART)(55-102) diminished in Brown Norway. At the mRNA level, orexin A, GHSR1, alpha-MSH and CART expression were higher in Wistar and Lou C rats. Principal component analysis confirmed the presence of two main factors in the ad libitum rat population; the first being associated with growth-related parameters and the second being associated with food intake regulation. Hypothalamic GHRH and somatostatin content were positively correlated with feeding-related neuropeptides such as alpha-MSH for GHRH, and orexin A and CART for both peptides. Plasma ghrelin levels were negatively correlated with leptin and IGF-1 levels. Finally, a 72-h fasting period affected minimally body weight, plasma IGF-1 and leptin levels in Lou C rats compared to the three other strains, and plasma insulin levels were less affected in Brown Norway rats. In conclusion, Wistar shorter life span is consistent with its already fatter phenotype at 3 months of age. In terms of IGF-1, glycaemia and leptin responses to fasting, the Lou strain, which presents with a low food intake/body weight and caloric efficiency, is the least affected. The link between food intake regulation, GH axis and ageing is further demonstrated by principal component analysis, where GHRH and somatostatin were found to be strongly associated with energy homeostasis parameters.
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PMID:Plasma and hypothalamic peptide-hormone levels regulating somatotroph function and energy balance in fed and fasted states: a comparative study in four strains of rats. 1566 53

Prevention of graft dysfunction is a major objective in transplantation medicine. Previous research on experimental heart transplantation indicated that treatment with the immunomodulatory peptide alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) improves histopathology, prolongs allograft survival, and reduces expression of the main tissue injury mediators. Because calcium-handling is critical in heart graft function, we determined the effects of transplantation injury and influences of alpha-MSH treatment on representative calcium regulatory proteins in rat heart allografts. Hearts from Brown Norway rats were transplanted heterotopically into MHC incompatible Lewis rats. Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), protein kinase C epsilon (PKC epsilon), sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum calcium-ATPase 2 (SERCA2a), arrestin-beta1 (Arrb1), cholinergic receptor M2 (Chrm2), and inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor 1 (InsP(3)R1) were examined in: (1) non-transplanted donor hearts; (2) allografts from saline-treated rats; and (3) allografts from rats treated with the synthetic alpha-MSH analog Nle4-DPhe7-alpha-MSH (NDP-alpha-MSH) (100 microg i.p. every 12h). Transplantation injury was associated with severe reduction in calcium regulatory protein transcription and expression level. NDP-alpha-MSH administration partly reversed inhibition of protein transcription and almost completely prevented protein loss. Finally, because certain effects of cyclic 3'-5'-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling on calcium handling in cardiac myocytes depend on activation of exchange protein directly activated by cAMP 1 (Epac1), we determined Epac1 mRNA and protein expression in heart allografts. Transplantation injury markedly reduced Epac1. NDP-alpha-MSH treatment significantly preserved both Epac1 protein and mRNA in the allografts. Administration of alpha-MSH or related melanocortins could reduce transplantation-induced dysfunction through protection of heart calcium regulatory proteins.
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PMID:Treatment with alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone preserves calcium regulatory proteins in rat heart allografts. 1817 58