Eating Behavior is Associated to Sympathetic Activation Induced by ICV Injection of Prostaglandin E1 in the Rat

This experiment tests the effect of intracerebro-ventricular (icv) injection of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) on. (1) food intake, (2) sympathetic activity and body temperature. The firing rate of the sympathetic nerves to interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT), along with IBAT and colonic temperatures (TIBAT and TC) were monitored in male Sprague-Dawley rats before and for 90 min after food presentation. An icv injection of PGE1 (500 ng) or saline was made immediately before food presentation. The amount of food ingested was also measured. The same procedure was carried out in control rats without food presentation. The results show that PGE1 raises the sympathetic firing rate, TIBAT and TC and it causes a decrease in food intake. These findings suggest that the food intake is associated to the sympathetic activity in the PGE1-hyperthermia.