Hypothalamic galanin and early state of hyperphagia in obese Zucker rats

Galanin (GAL) stimulates food intake in normal rats when it is injected in different hypothalamic areas involved in feeding such as the paraventricular and ventromedial nuclei and the lateral hypothalamus. At adulthood, the hyperphagic obese Zucker rat is characterized by a general dysregulation of some important neuropeptides involved in the regulation of food intake including GAL. The aim of this study was to measure GAL in different microdissected brain areas in 2- and 4-week-old lean (FA/−) and obese (fa/fa) male Zucker rats in order to know if GAL actively participates in triggering abnormal feeding behavior in obese rats. There was a significant increase (40%–220%) in GAL concentration with age in the arcuate and dorsomedial nuclei and in the above areas except for the lateral hypothalamus. Genotype differences were observed in the arcuate and paraventricular nuclei only. GAL levels were globally lower in obese than in lean rats (−15% to −25%) and the difference was significant at 2 weeks of age in the paraventricular nucleus and at 4 weeks of age in the arcuate nucleus. In agreement with human observations, these data suggest that GAL is not an early player in the development of overeating.