Chronic stress reduces body fat content in both obesity-prone and obesity-resistant strains of mice

Unpredictable stressors have been used to assess the effect of stress on energy metabolism in obesity-prone (C57BL6J) and obesity-resistant (AJ) mice. Mice were exposed for 25 days to a stress protocol. Both strains of mice were divided into groups of control and stressed mice, which had access to either a high-fat or a high-carbohydrate diet. Twenty-four hours after the last session of stress, mice were sacrificed for blood and brain collections. Insulin, corticosterone, and glucose concentrations in plasma were measured, and expressions of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVH) and the central amygdala (CeA) were determined by in situ hybridization. Stressed mice in all groups had lower body fat contents than control mice, and all mice fed with the high-fat diet had heavier retroperitoneal and inguinal fat pads than mice fed with carbohydrate. CRF mRNA level in the CeA was lower in B6 mice than in AJ mice. Stressed mice had a lower expression of CRF in the CeA than control mice. In conclusion, chronic stress reduces body fat content in obesity-prone as well as in obesity-resistant mice.