Vanadium, a potent nonselective inhibitor of protein tyrosine phosphatases, has been shown to mimic many of the metabolic actions of insulin both in vivo and in vitro. The mechanism(s) of the effect of vanadium on the decrease in appetite and body weight in Zucker fa/fa rats, an insulin-resistant model, is still unclear. Because insulin may inhibit hypothalamic neuropeptide Y (NPY), which is kn...