Evidence that nitric oxide stimulates feeding in the marsupial Sminthopsis crassicaudata.

Nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitors reduce food intake in rodents and chickens, suggesting that NO may stimulate feeding. We used two competitive, non-selective inhibitors of NO synthase (NOS), (NG-monomethyl-L-arginine ester [L-NMMA] and NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester [L-NAME]), to evaluate the role of NO mechanisms in the control of food intake in a marsupial model previously used in studies of appetite regulation. Adult male Sminthopsis crassicaudata (n = 11-16, 15 +/- 0.3 g, mean +/- S.E.M.) received L-NMMA (50, 100, 200 and 1000 mg/kg), L-NAME (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg), L-arginine (L-arg) the precursor of NO (1000 and 2000 mg/kg), L-NAME (200 mg/kg) in combination with L-arg (2000 mg/kg), or saline (0.9%). All drugs were administered intraperitoneally after 24 h of food deprivation, after which food was immediately made available ad libitum. Food intake was measured 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 24 h after treatments. In addition, we studied the effect of acute L-NAME administration on hypothalamic, cortical, hepatic and cardiac NOS activity by quantifying citrulline production. L-NMMA (1000 mg/kg) and L-NAME (100 and 200 mg/kg) suppressed food intake by 25%, 21%, and 30%, respectively, over 24 h after treatments (P < 0.05). L-arg (1000 and 2000 mg/kg) by itself had no significant effect on food intake when compared with saline (P > 0.05). When administered in combination with L-NAME (200 mg/kg), L-arg (2000 mg/kg) reversed L-NAME induced suppression of appetite (P> 0.05). Furthermore, L-NAME (200 mg/kg) significantly decreased hypothalamic (P < 0.01), cortical (P < 0.01) and hepatic (P < 0.03) NOS activity. L-NAME had no effect on cardiac NOS activity (P> 0.05). These data show that peripheral administration of L-NAME has a significant central effect, particularly in brain areas involved in appetite regulation, and suggest in marsupials, as in other mammals and birds, that NO plays a role in the regulation of food intake.     

Variables affecting long-term memory of learning that a food is inedible in Aplysia

Long-term memory of learning that a food is inedible was studied in Aplysia. Seven days after a single training session, animals retained significant memory, as measured by a number of parameters. A 2nd experiment demonstrated savings 3 weeks after 2 training sessions. Long-term memory was also found after training procedures were altered to resemble those more likely to occur in nature, such as training for only 10 min or training with ad-lib access to inedible food, with no experimenter intervention. The effects were determined of bilaterally sectioning the esophageal nerves that innervate the gut. Denervation of the gut blocked the ability to learn that food is inedible but did not affect memory after the task had already been learned.     

L-arginine via nitric oxide is an inhibitory feedback modulator of Aplysia feeding

An increase in L-arginine hemolymph concentration acts as a postingestion signal inhibiting Aplysia feeding. At physiological concentrations (a 10-μM increase over background), the inhibitory effect of L-arginine is too weak to block feeding in hungry animals. However, a 10-μM increase in L-arginine concentration acts along with another inhibitory stimulus, the sustained presence of food odor, to inhibit feeding after a period of access to food. A physiological concentration of L-arginine also blocked the excitatory effect of a stimulus enhancing feeding, pheromones secreted by mating conspecifics. High concentrations of L-arginine (2.5 mM) alone also inhibited ad libitum feeding. L-arginine is the substrate from which nitric oxide synthase (NOS) produces nitric oxide (NO). Both an NO donor and a 10-μM increase in L-arginine inhibited biting in response to a weak food stimulus. Treatment with NOS inhibitors initiated food-finding and biting in the absence of food, indicating that food initiates feeding against a background of tonic nitrergic inhibition. Increased feeding in response to blocking NOS is accompanied by firing of the metacerebral (MCC) neuron, a monitor of food arousal. The excitatory effect on the MCC of blocking NOS is indirect. The data suggest that L-arginine acts by amplifying NO synthesis, which acts as a background stimulus inhibiting feeding. Background modulation of neural activity and behavior by NO may also be present in other systems, but such modulation may be difficult to identify because its effects are evident only in the context of additional stimuli modulating behavior.     

Age-related changes in brain proDynorphin gene expression in the rat

Dynorphin has a well-established role in feeding and gustation. Alterations in taste perception and feeding behavior are common with age. We hypothesized that proDynorphin gene expression in brain areas involved in taste and feeding declines with age. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were housed individually with ad libitum access to food and water. Brain punches of the selected regions were dissected out in groups of rats aged 4–6, 12–14 and 18–21 months. ProDynorphin mRNA (measured using a cDNA probe) decreased significantly with age in arcuate nucleus and amygdala; increased significantly with age in hippocampus; and was not significantly affected in nucleus of the solitary tract, cortex, caudate putamen or hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus. These data suggest an age-related decrease in the synthesis of dynorphin in two brain regions strongly associated with feeding behavior, and an increase in dynorphin synthesis in a brain region associated with learning and memory.     

Circadian variation in the effects of nitric oxide synthase inhibitors on body temperature, feeding and activity in rats

We have investigated whether there is circadian variation in the effects of nitric oxide synthase inhibitors on body temperature, physical activity and feeding. We used nocturnally active Sprague-Dawley rats, housed at approximately 24 degrees C with a 12:12 h light:dark cycle (lights on 07:00 hours) and provided with food and water ad libitum. Nitric oxide synthesis was inhibited by intraperitoneal injection of the unspecific nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N-nitro- L-arginine methyl ester ( L-NAME, 100, 50, 25, 10 mg/kg), or the relatively selective inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibitor aminoguanidine (100, 50 mg/kg), during the day ( approximately 09:00 hours) or night ( approximately 21:00 hours). Body temperature and physical activity were measured using radiotelemetry, while food intake was calculated by weighing each animal's food before as well as 12 and 24 h after each injection. We found that daytime injection of L-NAME and aminoguanidine had no effect on daytime body temperature. However, daytime injection of both drugs did decrease nocturnal food intake ( P<0.05) and activity ( P<0.05). When injected at night, L-NAME reduced night-time body temperature ( P<0.01), activity ( P<0.05) and food intake ( P<0.05) in a dose-dependent manner, but night-time injection of aminoguanidine inhibited only night-time activity ( P<0.05). The effects of nitric oxide synthase inhibition on body temperature, feeding and activity therefore are primarily a consequence of inhibiting constitutively expressed nitric oxide synthase, and are subject to circadian variation.     

Parametric features of inhibition of feeding in Aplysia by associative learning, satiation, and sustained lip stimulation

In order to determine whether different classes of behavioral plasticity affect common or unique neural loci, the effects of three types of processes that inhibit feeding in Aplysia were quantified. Changes in feeding behavior due to an associative learning task in which animals learn that food is inedible were compared with behavioral effects caused by satiation and by sustained lip stimulation. The data indicate that each process modifying feeding can be characterized by differences in time to stop responding to food, by differences in specificity of the decrement to a particular food, and by different patterns of motor output before complete cessation of responsiveness. The data suggest each process inhibiting feeding acts at a different neural site. Learning that food is inedible may be due to facilitation of a specific sensory pathway onto pattern generators producing rejection responses. Sustained lip stimulation seems to inhibit feeding by causing a decrement in all outputs of a particular sensory pathway. Finally, satiation appears to represent inhibition of feeding motor elements.     

Nitric oxide synthase and soluble guanylate cyclase are involved in spinal cord wind-up activity of monoarthritic, but not of normal rats

While increasing evidence points to a role for the nitric oxide (NO)/cyclic guanosine 3,5-monophosphate (GMPc) cascade in hyperalgesia and allodynia, participation of the NO/GMPc pathway in synaptic processing in the spinal cord, i.e. wind-up activity, is less clear. We studied the effects of intrathecal administration of Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) and methylene blue, inhibitors of NO synthase and guanylate cyclase respectively, on wind-up activity developed in a C-fiber reflex response paradigm. 5, 10 and 20 microg i.t. of L-NAME or methylene blue did not modify spinal wind-up in normal rats, while a dose-dependent inhibition of wind-up was observed in monoarthritic rats. Results suggest that the NO/GMPc pathway plays a non-significant role in wind-up activity evoked in normal animals, while it may be essential in chronic pain processing.     

Failure of L-NAME to cause inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis: Role of inducible nitric oxide synthase

We addressed the hypothesis that administration of nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, N^G-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) does not result in a sustained suppression of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, because of a compensatory expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). L-NAME was administered in the drinking water (0.1–1.0 mg/ml) for 7 days to guinea pigs and rats. Nitric oxide synthesis was assessed by [1] ex vivo formation of nitrite in blood vessels and intestine [2] tissue levels of cGMP [3] iNOS gene expression by RT-PCR [4] NADPH diaphorase staining [5] direct assessment of NO release in tissue explants using a microelectrode/electrochemical detection system. Chronic L-NAME administration elevated intestinal cGMP and nitrite levels in guinea pigs (p<0.05). In rats, intestinal nitrite levels were comparable in control and L-NAME treatment groups, whereas direct assessment of NO release defined a marked increase in the L-NAME group. Chronic L-NAME resulted in an induction of iNOS gene expression in rats and guinea pigs and novel sites of NADPH diaphorase staining in the intestine. We conclude that iNOS expression is responsible for a compensatory increase or normalization of NO synthesis during sustained administration of L-NAME.accepted by G. Letts     

Differential effects of infralimbic cortical lesions on temperature and locomotor activity responses to feeding in rats

The time of food availability induces important behavioral and metabolic adaptations. Animals subjected to feeding restricted to a few daytime hours show increased locomotor activity and body temperature in anticipation of mealtime. In addition, animals under ad libitum feeding show a marked postprandial raise in body temperature and in thermogenesis. The areas of the brain commanding these responses to food are partially known. We investigated in the rat the role of the infralimbic area, located in the medial prefrontal cortex, and considered a visceral-autonomic motor area, in the responses to ad libitum or restricted feeding schedule. We performed infralimbic cortex excitotoxic lesions using injections of ibotenic acid, and measured body temperature and locomotor activity by telemetry in rats under ad libitum and restricted feeding conditions. We found that bilateral infralimbic area lesions prevented both the anticipatory and the postprandial increases in core temperature, decreased mean temperature by nearly 0.3 degrees C during both light/dark phases, and increased daily temperature variability. In contrast, the lesion caused a rapid induction of the anticipatory locomotor activity. These results show that behavioral and metabolic responses to the time of food availability are commanded separately and that the infralimbic area is a key structure to adjust the body temperature to an upcoming meal.     

一氧化氮对大鼠学习记忆和胆碱能系统的影响

目的:探讨一氧化氮(nitric oxide,NO)在大鼠空间学习和记忆过程中的作用及其对胆碱能受体作用机制。方法:大鼠侧脑室分别注射NO前体左旋精氨酸(L-arginine,L-Arg,L-Arg组)、α7烟碱型乙酰胆碱受体(α7nicotinic acetylcholine receptor,α7nAChR)拮抗剂甲基牛扁亭(methyllycaconitine,MLA,MLA组)、α7nAChR激动剂氯化胆碱(choline chloride,CC组)、一氧化氮合酶抑制剂Nω-硝基-L-精氨酸甲酯(nω-nitro-L-arginine methylester,L-NAME,L-NAME组)以及先注射MLA再注射L-Arg(ML组)、先注射L-NAME再注射氯化胆碱(NC组),并以等量生理盐水(NS组)作为对照。用Y型迷宫刺激器、硝酸还原酶法、免疫组织化学以及Western-Blot等技术分别检测大鼠空间学习和记忆行为能力、大脑皮质和海马NO含量和α7nAChR的表达。结果:与对照组比较,Y迷宫空间学习能力达标次数和24 h后30次测试记忆行为中错误反应次数在L-Arg组和CC组均减少,而在MLA组和L-NAME组均增多;大脑前额叶皮质和海马NO含量和α7nAChR阳性细胞数以及蛋白含量在L-Arg组和CC组均明显增多,而在MLA组和L-NAME组均明显减少。ML组和NC组分别与L-Arg和CC组相比较,大鼠学习和记忆行为能力均明显减弱,并且大脑前额叶皮质和海马NO含量以及α7nAChR的表达均减少。结论:侧脑室应用MLA或L-NAME可减弱L-Arg或氯化胆碱对大鼠空间学习和记忆行为能力的促进作用;NO通过α7nAChR促进大鼠空间学习和记忆能力。     

Effect of chronic caloric restriction on physiological variables related to energy metabolism in the male Fischer 344 rat

In the present study, a number of physiological and behavioral measures that are related to metabolism were continuously monitored in 19-month-old male Fischer 344 rats that were fed ad libitum or fed a caloric restricted diet. Caloric restricted rats ate fewer meals but consumed more food during each meal and spent more time eating per meal than did rats fed ad libitum. Therefore, the timing and duration of meals as well as the total number of calories consumed may be associated with life extension. Average body temperature per day was significantly lower in restricted rats but body temperature range per day and motor activity were higher in restricted rats. Dramatic changes in respiratory quotient, indicating rapid changes in metabolic pathway and lower temperature, occurred in caloric restricted rats when carbohydrate reserves were depleted. Lower body temperature and metabolism during this time interval may result in less DNA damage, thereby increasing the survival potential of restricted rats. Nighttime feeding was found to synchronize physiological performance between ad libitum and caloric restricted rats better than daytime feeding, thereby allowing investigators to distinguish the effects of caloric restriction from those related solely to the time-of-day of feeding.     

杭白菊乙酸乙酯提取物的舒血管作用及相关机制

目的：研究杭白菊乙酸乙酯提取物（CME）的舒血管作用及机制。方法： 大鼠胸主动脉环张力测定法。结果： CME可以浓度依赖性地降低主动脉环由苯肾上腺素（PE）及高钾预收缩的血管张力，其对内皮完整血管的作用显著大于去内皮血管（P＜0.05）。L-N-硝基精氨酸甲酯（L-NAME）、亚甲蓝可以显著降低CME的舒血管作用（P＜0.01）；将主动脉与CME共孵育后，血管NOS活力呈现浓度依赖地增高（P＜0.01）；吲哚美辛对CME的作用无显著影响；SKF-525A与L-NAME合用，与单用L-NAME无显著差异。CME的舒血管作用不受普萘洛尔、四乙氨、氯化钡、4-氨基吡啶、5-羟基癸酸的影响；但却可被格列苯脲显著削弱（P＜0.01）。无钙环境下CME对PE引起的收缩无显著影响；无钾环境下以及无钙环境下渐加钙，CME对PE引起的收缩有显著影响（P＜0.05）。结论： CME具有显著的舒血管作用，其机制既与NO介导的途径有关，也与抑制电压依从性钙通道和受体操纵性钙通道以及激活ATP敏感钾通道有关。     

Intracerebroventricular administration of chicken motilin does not induce hyperphagia in meat-type chicks

The effect of chicken motilin on food intake was investigated in meat-type chicks under ad libitum feeding, refeeding, and fasting conditions. We found that the intracerebroventricular injection of chicken motilin (0.1 and 0.2 microg) tended to increase food intake under ad libitum feeding and refeeding conditions at 60 min postinjection, but the differences were not significant (P>.05). On the other hand, central administration of chicken motilin (0.2 and 0.4 microg) showed a tendency to suppress feeding of fasted chicks as well as the result of high dose (5.0 microg) under ad libitum feeding conditions. Therefore, the results presented here suggest that central motilin alone does not induce hyperphagia in meat-type chicks.     

Presence of conspecifics facilitates learning that food is inedible in Aplysia fasciata.

The absence of a conspecific, but not of food, interfered with learning and memory of a feeding task in Aplysia fasciata. Interference was shown by a shortened training session and by lack of savings on retraining. The shortened training is not responsible for the lack of savings because brief training in the presence of a conspecific led to savings on retraining. Animals trained in the absence of a conspecific and then tested in its presence did not show signs of having learned, which indicates that the absence of a conspecific interfered with the ability to learn, rather than with the expression of memory. Absence of a conspecific also inhibited other aspects of feeding behavior, such as the latency to respond to food and the length of time that animals respond to food, which indicate that interference with learning was apparently caused by inhibition of feeding behavior, rather than by block of the mechanisms underlying learning.     

Central Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester does not influence lithium-induced c-Fos and conditioned taste aversion

LiCl at doses sufficient to induce conditioned taste aversion (CTA) causes c-Fos expression in the brain regions implicated in CTA formation. It has been reported that nitric oxide (NO) may play a role in CTA learning and LiCl increases both the synthesis and activity of NO synthase (NOS) in the brain. In this study, we examined the effect of central Nomega-nitro-L- arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) on the brain c-Fos expression and CTA learning induced by lithium in rats. In the results, intracerebroventricular L-NAME given prior to lithium did not change either the lithium-induced CTA or c-Fos in the relevant brain regions. This suggests that the brain NO system may not be involved in the neuronal activation during lithium-induced CTA formation.     

Impairment of olfactory discrimination by blockade of nitric oxide activity in the terrestrial slug Limax valentianus

The terrestrial slug Limax readily associates an innately preferred food odor with the aversive taste of quinidine. We investigated slugs’ olfactory discrimination capability among structurally similar alcohols and the effects of inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis to the olfactory discrimination behavior, using an olfactory discriminatory learning task. Limax could discriminate among the odor of 1-octanol (OT), 3-methylcyclohexanol (MC) and 1-hexanol (HX). OT was perceptually more similar to HX than was MC for them. When NO synthesis was inhibited by injecting N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) shortly before the discrimination test, slugs could not discriminate between OT and HX whereas the retrieval of olfactory memory and the discrimination between OT and MC remained intact. These results indicate that the NO cascade plays a crucial role for fine olfactory discrimination in Limax.     

Abomasal secretory responses to teasing with food and feeding in the sheep

1. Secretion of acid and pepsin from abomasal pouches and contractions of the reticulum and rumen were studied in sheep. Observations were made in sheep after being fasted and when they had food available ad libitum.2. The abomasal pouches were of fundic regions alone and also of the fundic region with a rim of antral mucosa.3. The secretion from both types of pouch was continuous, was increased by feeding and decreased by fasting.4. The volume, pepsin concentration and acid concentration of the secretion from fundic pouches increased within 15-30 min of the sheep being teased with food or fed. These responses were observed in sheep which had food available ad libitum or had been fasted.5. Reticulum contractions and the rumen contractions associated with them (A sequences) increased in frequency when sheep with either type of pouch were teased with food or when they ate.6. Consistent associations between rumination and abomasal secretory activity were not established.7. Mixed fundic-antral pouches did not characteristically show responses to teasing with food and sustained secretory responses were delayed by up to 90 min after feeding commenced.8. It is suggested that a cephalic phase of gastric (abomasal) secretion was revealed in the studies on fundic pouches of the abomasum.     

Oscillatory changes in muscle lipoprotein lipase activity of fed and starved rats.

Lipoprotein lipase activity was measured at short time intervals in cardiac and skeletal muscles of normal and streptozotocin-treated diabetic rats fed ad libitum or deprived of food. In normal animals fed ad libitum, lipoprotein lipase activities of heart, diaphragm, soleus, and fast-twitch red fibers of the quadriceps muscle showed rhythmic oscillations that appeared to coincide with the nocturnal feeding habits of the animals. During the day (7 A.M. to 7 P.M.), when food consumption by the rats was greatly reduced, lipoprotein lipase activity in all muscles increased, followed by a decline to basal levels during the night. Similar oscillatory changes in lipoprotein lipase activity were observed in the muscles of diabetic rats fed ad libitum. In normal rats deprived of food, however, the oscillatory changes in muscle lipoprotein lipase activity were not abolished and persisted for at least 48 h. In diabetic rats starved during a 48-h period, the oscillatory changes in muscle lipoprotein lipase activity were markedly altered. In all animals, muscle lipoprotein lipase activities were not correlated to plasma glucagon levels.     

Effects of social competition for feed on growth of farmed raccoon dogs

To test whether or not social competition influences food consumption and growth in farmed raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides, Gray 1834), animals were placed singly, in pairs and by threes in standard cages and fed ad libitum or restricted feed portions. Daily feed intake of single, ad libitum freely fed animals, 930 +/- 150 g, was significantly more than that of animals caged in pairs (750 +/- 45 g) or by threes (730 +/- 210 g). Animals on restricted feeding consumed all the feed supplied, i.e. 550 g per animal daily. Higher feed intake was associated with a poorer apparent digestibility of protein, fat, carbohydrates and energy during the period of maximal growth rate in August. Approximately the same final body weights were achieved despite of the number of animals per cage. Animals on ad libitum feeding tended to be heavier than those of restricted feeding. However, the interindividual variation in body size was large even in single animals fed ad libitum. No significant interactions between social status and feed availability were found, i.e. the shortage of feed affected equally all social classes. No marked differences in foot length or skin quality between experimental groups were found.     

Nitric oxide (NO)-dependent but not NO-independent guanylate cyclase activation attenuates hypoxic vasoconstriction in rabbit lungs

Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) is essential for matching lung perfusion with ventilation, thus optimizing pulmonary gas exchange. Preceding studies provided evidence for a role of both nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide/ H(2)O(2) formation in this vasoregulatory mechanism. Both agents might be operative via stimulation of guanylate cyclase with formation of the vasodilatory cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), the loss of which under conditions of hypoxia contributes to HPV. This view is challenged by the recent suggestion of increased rather than decreased superoxide/H(2)O(2) formation in hypoxia. We addressed the role of NO-dependent versus NO-independent guanylate cyclase activity in hypoxic and pharmacologically evoked vasoconstriction in perfused rabbit lungs. Two inhibitors of soluble guanylate cyclase, LY83583 (2 to 16 microM) and methylene blue (20 to 60 microM), increased baseline pulmonary artery pressure under normoxic conditions and markedly amplified the vasoconstrictor response to both hypoxia and the stable thromboxane analogue U46619. Under conditions of preblocked lung NO synthesis (N(G)-mono-methyl-L-arginine), however, additional guanylate cyclase inhibition further enhanced the vasoconstrictor response to U46619 but did not influence the strength of HPV. The selective phosphodiesterase V inhibitor Zaprinast (1 to 10 microM), used for prolongation of the cGMP half-life, reduced the hypoxia-induced pressor response to a larger extent than the pressor response to U46619. This difference was lost under conditions of preblocked NO synthesis. Equilibration of the lung perfusate with molecular NO suppressed the HPV more potently than the U46619-induced vasoconstrictor response. We conclude that NO-dependent guanylate cyclase activity has an important role in attenuating the vasoconstrictor response to alveolar hypoxia in rabbit lungs. In contrast, no evidence was obtained for a role of NO-independent cGMP formation in HPV. In this feature, HPV differs from that elicited by the thromboxane analogue U46619.