ABSTRACT
In response to changing day lengths, small photoperiodic rodents have evolved a suite of adaptations to survive the energetic bottlenecks of winter. Among these adaptations are changes in metabolism, adiposity, and energy balance. Whereas hypothalamic and neuroendocrine regulation of these adaptations has been extensively studied, the impact of day length, and interaction of day length and stress, on the energy balance of neurons within the central nervous system remains unspecified. Thus, we exposed male Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) to either short or long day lengths for 14 weeks to induce the full suite of adaptive responses, exposed them to 4h of restraint, and then measured relative mRNA expression in the hippocampus for low- and high-affinity glucocorticoid receptors (glucocorticoid receptor (GR), mineralocorticoid receptor (MR)), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and the neuron-specific glucose transporter GLUT3. Independent of photoperiod, restraint elevated plasma cortisol (CORT) concentrations and reduced expression of GR, MR, and BDNF. Neither restraint nor photoperiod significantly altered GLUT3 expression. Among all groups, plasma cortisol concentrations were negatively correlated with GR and MR expression. MR, BDNF, and GLUT3 levels were positively correlated with one another, even when controlling for photoperiod and CORT. Taken together, these results suggest that, as peripheral energy balance changes across day length in this photoperiodic species, the neurons of the hippocampus do not alter relative gene expression levels of three proteins involved in monitoring neuronal glucose regulation and morphology.
