Cocaine and amphetamine-regulated transcript mRNA regulation in the hypothalamus in lean and obese rodents

Cocaine and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) mRNA and immunoreactivity are expressed abundantly in the hypothalamus. Central administration of various fragments of this neuropeptide decreases food intake in rodents. To find out whether CART might play a role in the physiological regulation of energy balance, we used in situ hybridization to investigate whether CART mRNA abundance changed in two chronic obese/fat versus lean states and after acute dietary restriction. In the first study, mice were treated with goldthioglucose to destroy glucose-responsive neurones in the ventromedial hypothalamus. This produced hyperphagia and obesity: 7 weeks after treatment, those receiving goldthioglucose weighed 70% more than the controls. CART mRNA abundance in the arcuate nucleus of goldthioglucose-treated mice was decreased by 71% compared to levels in the control mice, but CART expression was unaffected in the dorsolateral hypothalamus. In the second study, male Siberian hamsters were exposed to short days to induce a physiological winter response in which body weight decreases as fat reserves are catabolized, and food intake correspondingly declines. After 8 weeks in short days, body weight had declined by 18% relative to controls maintained in long days in a summer fat state. CART mRNA levels did not differ significantly between the two groups in any hypothalamic areas. In the third study, male Siberian hamsters, either in long days or after 12 weeks exposure to short days to induce weight loss, were subject to a 48-h period of fasting. Although photoperiod per se did not affect CART expression, fasting produced a significant decrease in CART mRNA in the arcuate nucleus of hamsters in both the long- and short-day state. We conclude that CART-producing cells are involved in energy homeostasis: the marked decrease in CART expression in the arcuate nucleus in goldthioglucose-lesioned mice may contribute to the development of obesity, and the decrease following acute dietary restriction in hamsters may reflect a compensatory mechanism to reduce caloric expenditure, but our results do not indicate that CART is involved in long-term seasonal regulation of body weight.