Effect of dexamethasone on hypothalamic expression of appetite-related genes in chickens under different diet and feeding conditions

摘要

Background Glucocorticoids (GCs) are involved in the control of appetite in birds and mammals. The effect of GCs on feed intake in birds depends on their dietary energy level. But the regulation mechanism of GCs on appetite is still unclear in chickens facing to different energy level. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dexamethasone (DEX) on hypothalamic expression of appetite-related peptides in chickens fed high/low fat diet and under fasting/feeding condition. Results An interaction between DEX injection and dietary energy level was found on hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) gene expression in fasted chickens ( P Conclusion A regulatory network formed by NPY, AgRP and CRH is associated with the appetite-control by GCs. The result suggests that the regulation of GCs on orexigenic neuropeptides expression is dependent at least partially on dietary energy level and feeding state.