Estradiol decreases the orexigenic effect of melanin-concentrating hormone in ovariectomized rats

Estradiol exerts an inhibitory effect on food intake via interactions with anorexigenic peptides, like cholecystokinin, that function to decrease meal size. It is currently unknown whether estradiol also interacts with orexigenic compounds implicated in the physiological control of food intake. Thus, the primary goal of this study was to determine whether estradiol decreases the orexigenic effect of melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH), a neuropeptide that, like estradiol, appears to influence food intake by selectively affecting the controls of meal size. Food and water intake were monitored following lateral ventricular (icv) infusions of 5 μg MCH or saline vehicle in oil- and estradiol-treated ovariectomized rats. MCH increased food intake throughout the first 4 h of the dark phase in oil-treated rats, but only for the last 2 h of the same 4-h interval in estradiol-treated rats. As a result, the orexigenic effect of MCH was significantly lower in estradiol-treated rats, relative to oil-treated rats. During this interval of MCH-stimulated feeding, a prandial increase in water intake was not observed in either oil- or estradiol-treated rats. We conclude that estradiol decreases the orexigenic effect of MCH in ovariectomized rats.