Mimicking corticosterone's daily rhythm with specific receptor agonists: effects on food, water, and sodium intake

The endogenous pattern of type I and II corticosteroid receptor stimulation was systematically assembled from specific agonists in order to detect any unique receptor interactions in the control of ingestive behavior. The type II agonists dexamethasone (0, 5, or 25 micrograms/kg) or RU28362 (0, 5, or 25 micrograms/kg) were injected daily in the final hour of the light phase of the illumination cycle of adrenalectomized rats. This was carried out in the presence or absence of continuous aldosterone (type I agonist) infusion. Additional comparisons were made with sham-operated groups and animals receiving type II agonists by continuous infusion. Type II agonists increased the intake of 2% saline and the proportion of food taken at night, but had negligible effects on total food intake. Type II agonists did not interact with the type I agonist. Type II effects were greatly potentiated by continuous infusion, though administered at the same doses as acute injection. When the effects of type II receptor stimulation emerged, they always consisted of an exacerbation of the adrenalectomy syndrome, not a return to normal quantities or patterns. In contrast, type I receptor stimulation restored both the quantities and unique day-night patterns of saline, water, and food intake to values matching intact animals. The findings suggest that the behavioral significance of corticosterone's nocturnal peak of type II stimulation is small, and that its most important function may lie in the metabolic processes it instigates during its steady rise in the light phase.