Neuropeptide Y (NPY) inhibits excitatory synaptic transmission in the hippocampus and is implicated in control of limbic seizures. In the present study, we examined hippocampal function and the response to pharmacologically induced seizures in mutant mice lacking this peptide. In slice electrophysiology studies, no change in normal hippocampal function was observed in NPY-deficient mice compare...

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and noradrenaline are commonly co-expressed in sympathetic neurons. Both are key regulators of energy homeostasis and critical for stress-coping. However, little is known about the specific function of NPY in the catecholaminergic system in these regulations. Here we show that mice with NPY expression only in the noradrenergic and adrenergic cells of the catecholaminergic s...

Little is known about the mechanism of action behind the orexigenic activity of cannabinoids. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is one of the most potent orexigenic factors and is a key mediator in the hypothalamic control of food intake. We examined the effect of cannabinoids on NPY release using a rat hypothalamic explant model. The cannabinoid agonists anandamide (AEA) and CP55,940 both significantly aug...

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a 36-amino acid peptide with structural similarities to peptide YY (PYY) and pancreatic polypeptide (PP). NPY, one of the most abundant neuropeptides known, is widely distributed throughout the central and peripheral nervous systems, while PYY and PP are predominantly distributed in the endocrine cells of the intestine and pancreas, respectively. Five NPY receptor subtyp...

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is widely distributed in the human body and contributes to a vast number of physiological processes. Since its discovery, NPY has been implicated in metabolic regulation and, although interest in its role in central mechanisms related to food intake and obesity has somewhat diminished, the topic remains a strong focus of research concerning NPY signalling. In addition, a nu...

The aim of this paper is to review the present knowledge of interactions between the neuropeptide Y (NPY) system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. On the basis of in vitro and in vivo studies of various animal species, we review the effects of NPY on all levels of HPA axis activity. We also describe the effects of glucocorticosteroids on the NPY system in the hypothalamus, incl...

The activity of neuropeptide Y (NPY) against Candida albicans, which was revealed to be fungicidal, was enhanced significantly by the truncation of amino acid residues at the N terminus. The most active peptides (MICs, approximately 1 microM) were about 10-fold more potent than the intact NPY (MIC, approximately 10 microM). The enhancement was weakened by the replacement of the N terminus by ne...

The neuropeptide Y (NPY) system is a multireceptor/multiligand system consisting of four receptors in humans (hY(1), hY(2), hY(4), hY(5)) and three agonists (NPY, PYY, PP) that activate these receptors with different potency. The relevance of this system in diseases like obesity or cancer, and the different role that each receptor plays influencing different biological processes makes this syst...

In mammals, somatostatin and neuropeptide Y (NPY) are largely found in the same neurons of the telencephalon. To determine if this is a phylogenetically ancient feature of telencephalic organization, the brain of red-eared turtles was examined using immunofluorescence double-labeling procedures. The results showed that somatostatin and NPY are found almost exclusively in the same neurons in the...

We examined the effects of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and related peptides on Ca2+ and K+ currents in acutely isolated neurons from the arcuate nucleus of the rat. NPY analogues that activated all of the known NPY receptors (Y1-Y5), produced voltage-dependent inhibition of Ca2+ currents and activation of inwardly rectifying K+ currents in arcuate neurons. Both of these effects could occur simultaneou...