Molecular characterization, appetite regulatory effects and feeding related changes of peptide YY in goldfish

Peptide YY (PYY) is a 36 amino acid multifunctional gut–brain hormone in mammals. PYY has recently raised great interest as it was shown to reduce food intake and body weight of mammals. While PYY and its receptors have been sequenced from many non-mammalian vertebrates, its functional role, especially in the regulation of food intake in lower vertebrates remain unknown. In this study, we identified the gene organization of goldfish PYY (gfPYY) and found abundant expression of PYY mRNA in the brain and digestive tract of goldfish. A 2.5-fold increase at 3 h post-feeding and a 1.5-fold decrease in fasted animals was observed of PYY mRNA expression in the brain, suggesting an anorectic role for PYY in goldfish. A single intraperitoneal injection of 10 ng/g body weight gfPYY(1–36) or an intracerebroventricular injection of 5 ng/g body weight gfPYY(1–36) caused a 27% or 30% reduction in food intake in goldfish, respectively. Overall, our results, for the first time provide molecular and functional evidence for anorectic actions of PYY in goldfish.