In male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) a high NaCl diet increases arterial pressure via a reduction in anterior hypothalamic nucleus norepinephrine release. Young female SHR are relatively well protected from this NaCl-sensitive hypertension, but depletion of both endogenous and dietary estrogens greatly exacerbates NaCl-sensitive hypertension. This study tests the hypothesis that estrog...

The hypothalamic-pituitary system is essential to maintain life and control systemic homeostasis, but it is negatively affected by various diseases, leading to serious symptoms. Embryonic stem (ES) cells differentiate into neuroectodermal progenitors when cultured as floating aggregates under serum-free conditions. Recently, our colleagues have shown that strict removal of exogenous patterning ...

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) acts as a cellular energy sensor, being activated during states of low energy charge. Hypothalamic AMPK activity is altered by hormonal and metabolic signals and mediates the feeding response. To determine the effect of diabetes on hypothalamic AMPK activity, we assayed this activity in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Compared with control rats, S...

CONTEXT Growing evidence implicates hypothalamic inflammation in the pathogenesis of diet-induced obesity and cognitive dysfunction in rodent models. Few studies have addressed the association between obesity and hypothalamic damage in humans and its relevance. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine markers of obesity-associated hypothalamic damage on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and to de...

The prolactin receptor (PRL-R) has recently been identified in various hypothalamic nuclei of female rats. In this study, expression of both the short- and long-forms of PRL-R mRNA was investigated in 11 microdissected hypothalamic nuclei of ovariectomized, estrogen-treated rats. Specific nuclei were micropunched from 300-micrometer thick frozen coronal sections with autoclaved stainless steel ...

The electrical stimulation of a specific hypothalamic area rapidly evokes attacks in rats. Noteworthy, attack-related hypothalamic structures were identified in all species studied so far. The area has been extensively mapped in rats, and its anatomical connections have been studied in detail. However, technical difficulties precluded earlier the precise identification of the neural elements me...

It is believed that aggressive attacks are activated by a downward stimulatory stream that includes the medial amygdala, hypothalamic attack area, and periaqueductal grey. However, the hypothalamic attack area (from which attacks can be induced by electrical stimulation) sends projections to the forebrain, the significance of which is unknown. Here we report that the unilateral stimulation of t...

The adult hypothalamus regulates many physiological functions and homeostatic loops, including growth, feeding and reproduction. In mammals, the hypothalamus derives from the ventral diencephalon where two distinct ventricular proliferative zones have been described. Although a set of transcription factors regulating the hypothalamic development has been identified, the exact molecular mechanis...

The distribution of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) in hypothalamic nuclei were examined in control and estrogen-treated female rats. CRF activity was measured using monolayer cultured rat anterior pituitary cells and AVP by radioimmunoassay. Hypothalamic nuclei were punched out according to the method of Palkovits. The distribution of CRF activity in 5 diffe...

The American diet, especially that of adolescents, contains highly palatable foods of high-energy content and large amounts of high-fructose sweeteners. These factors are believed to contribute to the obesity epidemic and insulin resistance. Previous investigations revealed that the central metabolism of glucose suppresses food intake mediated by the hypothalamic AMP-kinase/malonyl-CoA signalin...