Comparison of mammalian prolactin-releasing peptide and Carassius RFamide for feeding behavior and prolactin secretion in chicks

Prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP) was named for its originally reported effects as a prolactin (PRL) secretagogue in mammals. Carassius RFamide (C-RFa) is an orthologous PRL secretagogue in fishes and a gene encoding a 20-amino acid peptide of identical sequence is present in the chicken. These facts suggest that C-RFa is a putative chicken PrRP. However, no information is available for the physiological effects of C-RFa in chickens. Therefore, in the present study, we compared the effect of intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of C-RFa and mammalian PrRP (mPrRP) on feeding behavior and plasma PRL, growth hormone (GH), and corticosterone (CORT) concentrations. ICV injection of C-RFa did not affect feeding behavior of chicks while mPrRP was stimulatory. The injection of C-RFa also did not significantly affect plasma PRL, GH, and CORT concentrations. In contrast, ICV injection of mPrRP exerted similar effects to those reported in mammals by increasing plasma CORT and decreasing GH concentrations. Additionally, the peptide induced an unexpected inhibitory effect on plasma PRL concentrations. Overall, these data suggest that an as yet unidentified peptide that shares some functional similarities with mPrRP is present in birds, but that the physiological role of the avian 20-amino acid C-RFa peptide remains to be determined.