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Adult Consequences of Post-weaning High Fat Feeding on the Limbic–HPA Axis of Female Rats

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Abstract

The peripubertal period is critical for the final maturation of circuits controlling energy homeostasis and stress response. However, the consequence of juvenile fat consumption on adult physiology is not clear. This study analyzed the adult consequences of post-weaning fat feeding on limbic–hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis components and on metabolic regulators of female rats. Wistar rats were fed either a high fat (HF) diet or the normal chow from weaning to puberty or to 3 months of age. Additional groups crossed their diets at puberty onset. Plasma leptin, insulin, and corticosterone levels were determined by radioimmunoassay and their brain receptors by western blot analysis. Adult HF-fed animals though not overweight, had higher corticosterone and reduced glucocorticoid receptor levels in the hypothalamus and hippocampus, compared to the controls. The alterations in HPA axis emerged already at puberty onset. Leptin receptor levels in the hypothalamus were reduced only by continuous fat feeding from weaning to adulthood. The pre-pubertal period appeared more vulnerable to diet-induced alterations in adulthood than the post-pubertal one. Switching from fat diet to normal chow at puberty onset restored most of the diet-induced alterations in the HPA axis. The corticosteroid circuit rather than the leptin or insulin system appears as the principal target for the peripubertal fat diet-induced effects in adult female rats.

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Acknowledgments

This study is part of the 03ED81 research project, implemented within the framework of the “Reinforcement Program of Human Research Manpower” (PENED) that is co-financed by E.U.-European Social Fund (75%) and the Greek Ministry of Development-GSRT (25%). IASO Hospital is acknowledged for material supply and indirect financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Histology and Embryology, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    George Boukouvalas & Efthimia Kitraki

  2. INSERM, NMPA/NOPA, UMR 1197 Université Paris-Sud 11/INRA, Orsay, France

    Kyriaki Gerozissis

  3. Department. of Basic Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Athens, Thivon 2, 11527, Athens, Greece

    Efthimia Kitraki

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  1. George Boukouvalas
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  2. Kyriaki Gerozissis
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  3. Efthimia Kitraki
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Correspondence to Efthimia Kitraki.

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Boukouvalas, G., Gerozissis, K. & Kitraki, E. Adult Consequences of Post-weaning High Fat Feeding on the Limbic–HPA Axis of Female Rats. Cell Mol Neurobiol 30, 521–530 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-009-9476-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-009-9476-1

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