Maternal deprivation induces a rapid decline in circulating leptin levels and sexually dimorphic modifications in hypothalamic trophic factors and cell turnover

• Published in: Hormones and behavior Vol. 57; no. 4; pp. 405 - 414
• Main Authors: Viveros, María-Paz, Díaz, Francisca, Mateos, Beatriz, Rodríguez, Noé, Chowen, Julie A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 01.04.2010; Elsevier; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Animals; BDNF; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Glucose - metabolism; Blotting, Western; Brain; Cell Death; Cell proliferation; Corticosterone - blood; Endocrinology; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gender differences; Glial fibrillary acidic protein; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein - metabolism; Hormones; Hormones and behavior; Hypothalamus - cytology; Hypothalamus - metabolism; IGF-1; Insulin - blood; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I - metabolism; Intermediate Filament Proteins - metabolism; Leptin; Leptin - blood; Male; Maternal Deprivation; Metabolism; Nerve Tissue Proteins - metabolism; Nestin; Proteins; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Receptor, IGF Type 1 - metabolism; Receptors, Leptin - metabolism; Sex Characteristics; Stress; Vimentin - metabolism; Cell proliferation; Nestin; BDNF; Leptin; Glial fibrillary acidic protein; IGF-1; Stress; Deprivation; Central nervous system; Trophic factor; Adipokine; Hypothalamus; Insulin like growth factor 1; Encephalon; Turnover; Sexual dimorphism; Brain derived neurotrophic factor
• ISSN: 0018-506X; 1095-6867
• DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2010.01.009

Pathological outcomes, including metabolic and endocrine disturbances, of maternal deprivation (MD) in Wistar rats depend on gender and the timing of deprivation during development. We analyzed the effect of MD between postnatal days 9 and 10, a critical period in hypothalamic development, on circulating hormones and local production of trophic factors involved in this process, as well as on markers of cell turnover and maturation. Males and females were studied 12 and 24 h after MD and 12 h (MD36) after returning the dam to her pups. Circulating corticosterone levels were increased and glucose and leptin levels decreased throughout the study in both sexes. Hypothalamic mRNA levels of leptin receptor increased significantly at MD24 in both sexes, normalizing in females at MD36, but not in males. In male rats insulin-like growth factor mRNA levels were significantly decreased at MD24 and brain derived neurotrophic factor mRNA levels decreased at MD12 and MD24, with both trophic factors unaffected in females. In males cell proliferation was significantly decreased at MD36, as were the glial structural proteins, glial fibrillary acidic protein and vimentin. In females, nestin levels decreased significantly at MD24. These results indicate that MD differently affects trophic factors and cell-turnover in the hypothalamus of males and females, which may underlie the sex differences seen in the endocrine and metabolic outcome.