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Endocrine function of neuropeptide Y knockout mice
J C Erickson1, R S Ahima, G Hollopeter
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA.
Regulatory Peptides
|June 18, 1997
Summary
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is not essential for the neuroendocrine response to fasting. NPY-knockout mice showed normal hormone levels and responses to fasting, similar to wildtype mice.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Neuroscience
- Physiology
Background:
- Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is implicated in modulating the hypothalamic-pituitary axis.
- NPY signaling may play a role in the neuroendocrine response to fasting.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of NPY in endocrine regulation.
- To determine the effects of NPY deficiency on hormone levels during fasting.
Main Methods:
- Quantification of serum hormones (leptin, corticosterone, thyroxine, testosterone) in wildtype and NPY-knockout mice.
- Comparison of hormone levels under fed and fasted (48-hour) conditions.
- Assessment of estrous cycle length in female mice.
Main Results:
- NPY-knockout male mice exhibited normal serum hormone concentrations under fed conditions.
- Both wildtype and NPY-knockout mice showed similar hormonal changes in response to fasting, including decreased leptin, thyroxine, and testosterone, and increased corticosterone.
- Fasting prolonged the estrous cycle by 3 days in both wildtype and NPY-deficient female mice.
Conclusions:
- NPY is not essential for the normal functioning of the gonadotropic, thyrotropic, or corticotropic axes.
- NPY does not appear critical for the neuroendocrine response to acute fasting in mice.