Impaired neuroendocrine response to stress following a short-term fat-enriched diet

Unbalanced diets and stressful situations disrupt energy homeostasis and are implicated in the development of severe pathologies. The present study investigated the effects of a 7-day diet, enriched in corn oil (20%) and proportionally lower in protein and carbohydrate, on the major regulators of energy expenditure and stress response of adult male Wistar rats exposed to acute swimming stress at the end of the dietary treatment. Food intake and body weight gain were lower in diet-fed as compared with normal-chow-fed controls. The circulating leptin levels were elevated in both nonstressed and stressed diet-fed rats, while the glucose levels were significantly increased only in the diet-fed group subjected to stress. The plasma insulin levels were not affected by the diet, but were significantly reduced in acutely stressed rats. Acute swimming increased corticosterone levels both in chow-fed and diet-fed rats. No significant effect of diet was observed on corticosterone levels. Northern blot analysis showed increased glucocorticoid receptor mRNA levels in the hypothalamus of normally fed rats subjected to stress. This increase was not observed in the diet-fed stressed group, which on the contrary showed reduced glucocorticoid receptor mRNA levels following stress. The data presented indicate that even a moderately unbalanced, fat-enriched diet can within a short time disrupt the metabolic neuroendocrine balance and the stress response, rendering the organism more vulnerable to potential stressful insults.