Galanin and the galanin antagonist m40 do not change fat intake in
a fat-chow choice paradigm in rats.
Corwin, Rebecca L., Paula M. Rowe, and Jacqueline N. Crawley.
Section on Behavioral Neuropharmacology, Experimental Therapeutics
Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of
Health
APStracts 2:0071A, 1995.
The neuropeptide galanin has been proposed to play a role in the
regulation of fat intake (19, 20). The purpose of the present
investigation was to determine if galanin, and the galanin receptor
antagonist M40, would have selective effects on fat intake in a fat
-chow choice paradigm in rats. Rats were adapted to 22-hr access to
chow alone and 2-hr daily access to separate sources of fat and chow
in the early dark cycle. Galanin (300 pmoles, 1 nmole) or M40 (2-500
pmoles) was microinjected bilaterally into the paraventricular
nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), prior to the 2-hour choice period,
and chow and fat intake were measured. M40 had no effect on chow or
fat intake. Galanin stimulated chow intake, and increased the ratio
of chow to fat consumed, but had no significant effect on fat intake
alone. These results suggest that endogenous galanin in the PVN may
not play a primary role in the regulation of fat intake when fat is
available in addition to a nutritionally balanced diet.
Received 7 July 1994; accepted in final form 21 February 1995.
APS Manuscript Number A362-4.
Article publication pending Journal of Applied Physiology.
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1995 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 7 March 1995.