Establishment and evaluation of rat obesity model induced by electrical damage of ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus and arcuate nucleus / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To construct a rat model of hypothalamic obesity by two point electrical damage to the ventromedial hypothalamus and arcuate nucleus.Methods:Twenty adult male SD rats of SPF grade were randomly divided into experimental group and sham operation group.A 25GA (0.45 mm) solid iron needle was used, the needle was coated with an insulating layer, and the tip exposed a 0.5 mm conductive area.With reference to The Rat Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates and using the stereotactic instrument (AP -2.6 mm, ML ± 0.6 mm, DV -9.6 mm) as the coordinate, 1.5 mA current was continuously applied for 25 s, the ventromedial nucleus (VMH) and arcuate nucleus (ARC) of bilateral brain in SD rats was damaged.During the experiment, the body weight(BW), food intake(FI) and water intake(WI) of the two groups were recorded regularly.The rats were sacrificed on the 28th day after the operation, and the changes of periprenal fat mass and body length were measured.The changes of liver and adipose tissue were detected by HE staining method, leptin by ELISA, leptin receptor(LEPR) by Western blot.Results:(1) The body weight of rats in the experimental group ((427.5±17.7)g) and weight gain ((208.5±14.8)g) were significantly increased compared with the rats in the control group((349.2±17.7)g), ((136.2±21.4)g)on the 28th day after operation ( t=7.661, 6.806, both P<0.001). (2) The daily food intake of rats in the experimental group ((44.2±6.6)g) on the 28th day after surgery was significantly higher than that in the control group ((23.0±3.6)g) ( t=6.918, P<0.001). There was no significant difference of the daily drinking water of rats between experimental group((37.5±12.1)ml) and the control group ((35.0±11.8)ml) ( t=0.361, P=0.726). (3) Perikidney fat mass of experimental group rats ((13.4±2.7)g) significantly increased 28 days after operation compared with control group rats((6.3±0.9)g)( t=4.250, P<0.05). The naso-anal length of experimental group((21.8±0.4)cm) was significantly decreased compared with the control group ((23.4±0.2)cm) ( t=-6.788, P<0.01). The Lee index of the experimental group (348.9±8.5) was significantly higher than that of the control group(305.5±4.3)( t=7.898, P<0.01). (4) The serum leptin content ((8 324.10±159.00)μg/L) of the experimental group rats at 28 days after surgery was significantly higher than that of the control group((2 705.31±407.10)μg/L) ( t=25.712, P<0.001). The lateral hypothalamus area (LHA) LEPR protein expression (1.3±0.1) in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group (0.9±0.1) ( t=4.932, P<0.01). Conclusion:Two-point electrical damage to bilateral VMH and ARC of rats can establish hypothalamic obese rat model.