Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Romero-Pico A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3656373 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology 20130124 7
The opioid system is well recognized as an important regulator of appetite and energy balance. We now hypothesized that the hypothalamic opioid system might modulate the orexigenic effect of ghrelin. Using pharmacological and gene silencing approaches, we demonstrate that ghrelin utilizes a hypothalamic κ-opioid receptor (KOR) pathway to increase food intake in rats. Pharmacological blockade of KOR decreases the acute orexigenic effect of ghrelin. Inhibition of KOR expression in the hypothalamic ...[more]