Medialbasal hypothalamic deafferentation modulates feeding response to insulin in rats

Medialbasal hypothalamic (MBH) deafferentation induces hypothalamic obesity accompanied by hyperphagia and hyperinsulinemia. Insulin is essential in developing and maintaining obesity, but the role of insulin in food intake in hypothalamic obesity is still unclear. The present study demonstrated that exogenous insulin increased food intake dose relatedly in MBH deafferented diabetic rats without developing hypoglycemia. Insulin administrations suppressed hyperphagia in the sham-operated diabetic rats. In contrast, in the MBH deafferented diabetic rats, insulin increased food intake in sow-related manner concomitant with a greater increased body weight gain than the sham-operated diabetic rats. The blood glucose levels of the MBH deafferented diabetic rats were at all time higher than those of the sham-operated diabetic rats and were hyperglycemic throughout the insulin treatment. These data indicate that insulin action on food intake mediated through the central nervous system is modulated by MBH deafferentation. This modulated insulin action may contribute to the pathogenesis on obesity in MBH deafferented animals.