neuropeptide-f and Starvation

Topics: Animals; Appetitive Behavior; Dopaminergic Neurons; Drosophila melanogaster; Feeding Behavior; Female; Food; Hunger; Male; Memory Consolidation; Mushroom Bodies; Neuronal Plasticity; Neurons; Neuropeptides; Sleep; Starvation; Wakefulness

The formation of memory declines with advancing age. However, susceptibility to memory impairments depends on several factors, including the robustness of memory, the responsible neural circuits, and the internal state of aged individuals. How age-dependent changes in internal states and neural circuits affect memory formation remains unclear. Here, we show in

Topics: Aging; Animals; Arabinose; Conditioning, Classical; Dietary Sugars; Dopaminergic Neurons; Drosophila melanogaster; Female; Food Preferences; Learning; Male; Memory; Mushroom Bodies; Neuropeptides; Nutritive Value; Smell; Sorbitol; Starvation; Sucrose; Survival; Taste

The intake of macronutrients is crucial for the fitness of any animal and is mainly regulated by peripheral signals to the brain. How the brain receives and translates these peripheral signals or how these interactions lead to changes in feeding behavior is not well-understood. We discovered that 2 crustacean cardioactive peptide (CCAP)-expressing neurons in

Topics: Animals; Brain; Circadian Rhythm; Dopamine; Drosophila melanogaster; Drosophila Proteins; Feeding Behavior; Neurons; Neuropeptides; Signal Transduction; Starvation

Neuropeptide F (NPF) is an intercellular signaling molecule that mediates many physiological and behavioral processes. However, the function of neuropeptide F in mediating the feeding behavior of Locusta migratoria has been unclear.. The neuropeptide F 1 precursor cDNA from L. migratoria was obtained and analyzed, and its amino acid sequence deduced. Mature LmiNPF1 was composed of 36 amino acids and was similar to that of Schistocerca gregaria. The spatial and temporal expression profiles of LmiNPF1 were investigated. LmiNPF1 was primarily expressed in the central nervous system, especially in the brain, and the expression levels were higher during the day than during the night. However, starvation activated LmiNPF1 expression increases, and downregulation of LmiNPF1 inhibited locust feeding behavior.. LmiNPF1 promotes the feeding behavior of the locust and is a potential molecular target to control locust feeding. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Appetite; Base Sequence; Central Nervous System; Feeding Behavior; Gene Expression Regulation; Locusta migratoria; Neuropeptides; Starvation

Immunohistochemical reactivities against short neuropeptide F (sNPF-ir) and crustacean cardioactive peptide (CCAP-ir) were detected in both the brain-subesophageal ganglion (Br-SOG) and midgut epithelial cells of the male American cockroach, Periplaneta americana. Four weeks of starvation increased the number of sNPF-ir cells and decreased the CCAP-ir cells in the Br-SOG, whereas refeeding reversed these effects. The contents of sNPF in the Br-SOG, midgut and hemolymph titer decreased in response to an injection of CCAP into the hemocoel of normally fed male cockroaches, while CCAP titers/contents decreased in response to an injection of sNPF. The results of a double-labeling experiment demonstrated that sNPF-ir co-existed in CCAP-ir cells in the pars intercerebralis (PI), dorsolateral region of protocerebrum (DL), deutocerebrum (De) and SOG. sNPF-ir and CCAP-ir were also colocalized in the midgut. sNPF and CCAP are neuropeptides and midgut factors that interact with each other. Since the two peptides are known to be secreted by identical cells that affect each other, this constitutes autocrine negative feedback regulation for a quick response to food accessibility/inaccessibility. These peptides not only constitute the switch in the digestive mechanism but also couple digestive adaptation with behavior. A CCAP injection suppressed locomotor activity when cockroaches were starved, whereas sNPF activated it when they were fed.

Topics: Animals; Autocrine Communication; Brain; Cockroaches; Digestive System; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Esophagus; Feedback, Physiological; Feeding Behavior; Ganglia, Invertebrate; Male; Metabolome; Motor Activity; Neuropeptides; Starvation

All organisms continuously have to adapt their behavior according to changes in the environment in order to survive. Experience-driven changes in behavior are usually mediated and maintained by modifications in signaling within defined brain circuits. Given the simplicity of the larval brain of Drosophila and its experimental accessibility on the genetic and behavioral level, we analyzed if Drosophila neuropeptide F (dNPF) neurons are involved in classical olfactory conditioning. dNPF is an ortholog of the mammalian neuropeptide Y, a highly conserved neuromodulator that stimulates food-seeking behavior. We provide a comprehensive anatomical analysis of the dNPF neurons on the single-cell level. We demonstrate that artificial activation of dNPF neurons inhibits appetitive olfactory learning by modulating the sugar reward signal during acquisition. No effect is detectable for the retrieval of an established appetitive olfactory memory. The modulatory effect is based on the joint action of three distinct cell types that, if tested on the single-cell level, inhibit and invert the conditioned behavior. Taken together, our work describes anatomically and functionally a new part of the sugar reinforcement signaling pathway for classical olfactory conditioning in Drosophila larvae.

Topics: Animals; Animals, Genetically Modified; Association Learning; Brain; Carbohydrates; Choline O-Acetyltransferase; Drosophila; Drosophila Proteins; Feeding Behavior; Food Preferences; Larva; Mutation; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Neurons; Neuropeptides; Odorants; Reward; Smell; Starvation; Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase

Immunohistochemical reactivity against short neuropeptide F (sNPF) was observed in the brain-corpus cardiacum and midgut paraneurons of the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana. Four weeks of starvation increased the number of sNPF-ir cells in the midgut epithelium but the refeeding decreased the number in 3h. Dramatic rises in sNPF contents in the midgut epithelium and hemolymph of roaches starved for 4 weeks were confirmed by ELISA. Starvation for 4 weeks reduced α-amylase, protease and lipase activities in the midgut of P. americana but refeeding restored these to high levels. Co-incubation of dissected midgut with sNPF at physiological concentrations inhibited α-amylase, protease and lipase activities. sNPF injection into the hemocoel led to a decrease in α-amylase, protease and lipase activities, whereas PBS injection had no effects. The injection of d-(+)-trehalose and l-proline into the hemocoel of decapitated adult male cockroaches that had been starved for 4 weeks had no effect on these digestive enzymes. However, injection into the hemocoel of head-intact starved cockroaches stimulated digestive activity. Injection of d-(+)-trehalose and l-proline into the lumen of decapitated cockroaches that had been starved for 4 weeks increased enzymes activities and suppressed sNPF in the midgut. Our data indicate that sNPF from the midgut paraneurons suppresses α-amylase, protease and lipase activities during starvation. Injection of d-(+)-trehalose/l-proline into the hemocoel of head-intact starved cockroach decreased the hemolymph sNPF content, which suggests that sNPF could be one of the brain factors, demonstrating brain-midgut interplay in the regulation of digestive activities and possibly nutrition-associated behavioral modifications.

Topics: alpha-Amylases; Animals; Brain; Digestion; Digestive System; Enzyme Activation; Immunohistochemistry; Lipase; Male; Neuropeptides; Peptide Hydrolases; Periplaneta; Starvation

Internal physiological states influence behavioral decisions. We have investigated the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms at the first olfactory synapse for starvation modulation of food-search behavior in Drosophila. We found that a local signal by short neuropeptide F (sNPF) and a global metabolic cue by insulin are integrated at specific odorant receptor neurons (ORNs) to modulate olfactory sensitivity. Results from two-photon calcium imaging show that starvation increases presynaptic activity via intraglomerular sNPF signaling. Expression of sNPF and its receptor (sNPFR1) in Or42b neurons is necessary for starvation-induced food-search behavior. Presynaptic facilitation in Or42b neurons is sufficient to mimic starvation-like behavior in fed flies. Furthermore, starvation elevates the transcription level of sNPFR1 but not that of sNPF, and insulin signaling suppresses sNPFR1 expression. Thus, starvation increases expression of sNPFR1 to change the odor map, resulting in more robust food-search behavior.

Topics: Animals; Arthropod Antennae; Drosophila; Drosophila Proteins; Female; Neuropeptides; Odorants; Receptors, Neuropeptide; Receptors, Odorant; Sensory Receptor Cells; Signal Transduction; Starvation; Synapses

In Drosophila, neurosecretory cells that release peptide hormones play a prominent role in the regulation of development, growth, metabolism, and reproduction. Several types of peptidergic neurosecretory cells have been identified in the brain of Drosophila with release sites in the corpora cardiaca and anterior aorta. We show here that in adult flies the products of three neuropeptide precursors are colocalized in five pairs of large protocerebral neurosecretory cells in two clusters (designated ipc-1 and ipc-2a): Drosophila tachykinin (DTK), short neuropeptide F (sNPF) and ion transport peptide (ITP). These peptides were detected by immunocytochemistry in combination with GFP expression driven by the enhancer trap Gal4 lines c929 and Kurs-6, both of which are expressed in ipc-1 and 2a cells. This mix of colocalized peptides with seemingly unrelated functions is intriguing and prompted us to initiate analysis of the function of the ten neurosecretory cells. We investigated the role of peptide signaling from large ipc-1 and 2a cells in stress responses by monitoring the effect of starvation and desiccation in flies with levels of DTK or sNPF diminished by RNA interference. Using the Gal4-UAS system we targeted the peptide knockdown specifically to ipc-1 and 2a cells with the c929 and Kurs-6 drivers. Flies with reduced DTK or sNPF levels in these cells displayed decreased survival time at desiccation and starvation, as well as increased water loss at desiccation. Our data suggest that homeostasis during metabolic stress requires intact peptide signaling by ipc-1 and 2a neurosecretory cells.

Topics: Animals; Brain; Drosophila; Drosophila Proteins; Immunohistochemistry; Motor Activity; Neuropeptides; Neurosecretion; Starvation; Tachykinins