neuropeptide-y and Hepatitis

Neuropeptide Y and substance P were thought to play a role in the function of immune cells and in amplification or elimination of the inflammatory processes. In hepatitis the number of both neuropeptide Y and substance P immunoreactive nerve fibres are increased, where the increase of neoropeptide Y is significant. A large number of lymphocytes and mast cells are also stained for neuropeptide Y and substance P. Very close associations (less than 1 µm) were observed between neuropeptide Y immunoreactive nerve fibres and immune cells stained also with neuropeptide Y. Some immune cells were also found to be immunoreactive for tumor necrosis factor-α and NF-κB. Some of the SP IR immunocells were also stained for TNF-α and nuclear factor kappaB. Based on these data it is hypothesized that neuropeptid Y and substance P released from nerve fibres and immune cells play a role in inflammation and elimination of inflammation in hepatitis.

Topics: Hepatitis; Humans; Immunocompetence; Immunohistochemistry; Killer Cells, Natural; Neuropeptide Y; NF-kappa B p50 Subunit; Substance P; T-Lymphocytes; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Our group recently demonstrated that maternal high-fat diet (HFD) consumption is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, increased apoptosis, and changes in gluconeogenic gene expression and chromatin structure in fetal nonhuman primate (NHP) liver. However, little is known about the long-term effects that a HFD has on hepatic nervous system development in offspring, a system that plays an important role in regulating hepatic metabolism. Utilizing immunohistochemistry and Real-Time PCR, we quantified sympathetic nerve fiber density, apoptosis, inflammation, and other autonomic components in the livers of fetal and one-year old Japanese macaques chronically exposed to a HFD. We found that HFD exposure in-utero and throughout the postnatal period (HFD/HFD), when compared to animals receiving a CTR diet for the same developmental period (CTR/CTR), is associated with a 1.7 fold decrease in periportal sympathetic innervation, a 5 fold decrease in parenchymal sympathetic innervation, and a 2.5 fold increase in hepatic apoptosis in the livers of one-year old male animals. Additionally, we observed an increase in hepatic inflammation and a decrease in a key component of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway in one-year old HFD/HFD offspring. Taken together, these findings reinforce the impact that continuous exposure to a HFD has in the development of long-term hepatic pathologies in offspring and highlights a potential neuroanatomical basis for hepatic metabolic dysfunction.

Topics: Animals; Apoptosis; Cytokines; Diet, High-Fat; Female; Gene Expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Glucose Transporter Type 2; Glycogen; Hepatitis; Inflammation Mediators; Liver; Macaca; Male; Maternal-Fetal Exchange; Neuropeptide Y; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Receptors, Neuropeptide Y; Receptors, Nicotinic; Sympathetic Fibers, Postganglionic; Sympathetic Nervous System; Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase