Acute, but not chronic, stress increased the plasma concentration and hypothalamic mRNA expression of NUCB2/nesfatin-1 in rats

• Acute stress increases plasma concentrations of nesfatin-1.
• Acute stress increases hypothalamic mRNA expression of nesfatin-1.
• Chronic stress has no effect on the abundance of nesfatin-1.

Nesfatin-1, a newly discovered satiety peptide, has recently been reported to be involved in the stress response. Stress-induced expression of nesfatin-1 has been reported and few studies focus on its expression in the hypothalamus, which is the center of the stress response. To test our hypothesis that peripheral and hypothalamic nesfatin-1 overexpression should play an important role in the stress response and the associated hyperactivity of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, acute stress (AS) was induced using water avoidance stress (WAS), and chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) was also induced using 3 consecutive weeks of 7 different stressors. The behavior of CUMS rats was evaluated by an open field test (OFT), sucrose preference test (SPT), and forced swimming test (FST). The activity of the HPA axis was detected by measurement of the plasma corticosterone concentration and hypothalamic mRNA expression of corticotropin-releasing-hormone (CRH). The plasma concentration and hypothalamic mRNA expression of nesfatin-1 were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR, respectively. The results showed that both AS and CUMS increased the plasma corticosterone concentration and hypothalamic CRH mRNA expression. Depression-like behavior was induced in CUMS rats, as indicated by a decreased movement distance, frequency of rearing and grooming in the OFT, and sucrose preference index and increased immobility in the FST. Moreover, the AS rats showed increased plasma concentration and hypothalamic mRNA expression of nesfatin-1, which were positively correlated with the plasma corticosterone concentration and hypothalamic CRH expression, respectively. These results indicated that acute stress, but not chronic stress, increased the plasma concentration and hypothalamic mRNA expression of NUCB2/nesfatin-1 in rats.