Regulation of agouti-related protein messenger ribonucleic acid transcription and peptide secretion by acute and chronic inflammation.

ABSTRACT: Agouti-related protein (AgRP) is an orexigenic neuropeptide produced by neurons in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC) that is a key component of central neural circuits that control food intake and energy expenditure. Disorders in energy homeostasis, characterized by hypophagia and increased metabolic rate, frequently develop in animals with either acute or chronic diseases. Recently, studies have demonstrated that proopiomelanocortin-expressing neurons in the ARC are activated by the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1beta. In the current study, we sought to determine whether inflammatory processes regulate the expression of AgRP mRNA and to characterize the response of AgRP neurons to IL-1beta. Here, we show by real-time RT-PCR and in situ hybridization analysis that AgRP mRNA expression i

SUBMITTER: Scarlett JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2582916 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature