neuropeptide-y and 1-(3-chlorophenyl)piperazine

To determine whether NPY and 5-HT interact, we studied the effects on hypothalamic NPY and NPY mRNA levels of acute (10 mg/kg) and 7-day administration (10 mg/kg/day) of mCPP (a 5-HT 1B/2C agonist) and flesinoxan (a 5-HT 1A agonist). After both treatments, mCPP reduced food intake and NPY levels in the PVN (p < 0.01). NPY mRNA levels were only increased by comparable food restriction (p < 0.05). Acute flesinoxan injection increased food intake and NPY levels in the PVN and ARC (p < 0.01). This suggests that food intake changes induced by mCPP and flesinoxan are associated with altered NPYergic activity. Stimulation of different hypothalamic 5-HT1 receptors may alter NPY levels available for release in the PVN, possibly by altering transport along the ARC-PVN projection. Therefore, inhibition of the ARC-PVN projection may at least partly mediate the hypophagic effects of serotonin.

Topics: Animals; Arcuate Nucleus of Hypothalamus; Body Weight; Eating; Hormones; Hypothalamus; Male; Neuropeptide Y; Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus; Piperazines; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1B; Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2C; Receptors, Serotonin; Receptors, Serotonin, 5-HT1; RNA, Messenger; Serotonin; Serotonin Receptor Agonists