Effects of regulatory peptides on the stress-induced changes of lipid metabolism in experimental animals

Experiments on rats showed that restraint stress is associated with an increase in plasma level of nonesterified fatty acids, total cholesterol, triglycerides, VLDL, and LDL. Administration of opioid peptides DSLET and DAGO alleviated stress-induced shifts in lipid metabolism. The concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids, total cholesterol, and triglycerides decreased and HDL content increased under these conditions. Treatment with dynorphin A (1-13) prevented a significant increase in the concentration of nonesterified fatty acids in blood plasma, but did not affect the content of triglycerides and total cholesterol. Hepatocyte growth factor had minor influence on the analyzed parameters. The observed effects can be related to the stress-limiting effect of opioids, in particular, attenuation of catecholamine influence on the lipid tissue and generation of LPO products that inhibit cholesterol-degrading enzyme.