Melanin-concentrating hormone expression in slice cultures of rat hypothalamus is not affected by 2-deoxyglucose

Abstract

In rats, melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) neurons are mainly located within the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA). This area is known to be involved in the control of feeding and to contain glucose-sensitive cells. As a role for MCH in the regulation of food intake has been reported, we investigated the effects of 2-deoxyglucose (2DG) on MCH expression in cultured LHA slices, to verify if MCH neurons are sensitive to local glucoprivation through a modulation of MCH synthesis. After a 2–10 h 2DG incubation, competitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) did not show any variation of MCH mRNA; no change was also observed in MCH immunocytochemical labeling. A slight decrease of MCH mRNA (5–15%) after a 17 h 2DG treatment might be due to a general degradation of neurons induced by long-term glucoprivation. In conclusion, we suggest that MCH neurons are not the glucose-sensitive cells previously described in the LHA and that the signals inducing their previously reported response to glycemia variations do not arise from the LHA itself.