Hypothalamic thyroid hormone catabolism acts as a gatekeeper for the seasonal control of body weight and reproduction.

Seasonal adaptations in physiology exhibited by many animals involve an interface between biological timing and specific neuroendocrine systems, but the molecular basis of this interface is unknown. In this study of Siberian hamsters, we show that the availability of thyroid hormone within the hypothalamus is a key determinant of seasonal transitions. The expression of the gene encoding type III deiodinase (Dio3) and Dio3 activity in vivo (catabolism of T(4) and T(3)) is dynamically and temporally regulated by photoperiod, consistent with the loss of hypothalamic T(3) concentrations under short photoperiods. Chronic replacement of T(3) in the hypothalamus of male hamsters exposed to short photoperiods, thus bypassing synthetic or catabolic deiodinase enzymes located in cells of the ependyma of the third ventricle, prevented the onset of short-day physiology: hamsters maintained a long-day body weight phenotype and failed to undergo testicular and epididymal regression. However, pelage moult to a winter coat was not affected. Type II deiodinase gene expression was not regulated by photoperiod in these hamsters. Collectively, these data point to a pivotal role for hypothalamic DIO3 and T(3) catabolism in seasonal cycles of body weight and reproduction in mammals.

Photoperiodic regulation of cellular retinol binding protein, CRBP1 [corrected] and nestin in tanycytes of the third ventricle ependymal layer of the Siberian hamster.

Tanycytes in the ependymal layer of the third ventricle act both as a barrier and a communication gateway between the cerebrospinal fluid, brain and portal blood supply to the pituitary gland. However, the range, importance and mechanisms involved in the function of tanycytes remain to be explored. In this study, we have utilized a photoperiodic animal to examine the expression of three unrelated gene sequences in relation to photoperiod-induced changes in seasonal physiology and behaviour. We demonstrate that cellular retinol binding protein [corrected] (CRBP1), a retinoic acid transport protein, GPR50, an orphan G-protein-coupled receptor and nestin, an intermediate filament protein, are down-regulated in short-day photoperiods. The distribution of the three sequences is very similar, with expression located in cells with tanycyte morphology in the region of the ependymal layer where tanycytes are located. Furthermore, CRBP1 expression in the ependymal layer is shown to be independent of a circadian clock and altered testosterone levels associated with testicular regression in short photo-period. Pinealectomy of Siberian hamsters demonstrates CRBP1 expression is likely to be dependent on melatonin output from the pineal gland. This provides evidence that tanycytes are seasonally responsive cells and are likely to be an important part of the mechanism to facilitate seasonal physiology and behaviour in the Siberian hamster.

Role of melanocortin in the long-term regulation of energy balance: lessons from a seasonal model.

Siberian hamsters express photoperiod-regulated seasonal cycles of body weight and food intake, providing an opportunity to study the role of melanocortin systems in regulating long-term adaptive changes in energy metabolism. These hamsters accumulate intraperitoneal fat reserves when kept in long summer photoperiods, but show a profound long-term decrease in food intake and body weight when exposed to a short winter photoperiod. Icv administration of a MC3/4-R agonist (MTII) potently suppresses food intake in hamsters in both the obese and lean state, indicating the potential for melanocortin systems to regulate energy metabolism in the hypothalamus of the Siberian hamster. Icv treatment with the melanocortin antagonist SHU9119 increases food intake in both seasonal states. Moreover, hamsters bearing neurotoxic lesions, which destroy the majority of POMC expressing neurons in the arcuate nucleus are still able to show seasonal regulation of body weight. These studies in a seasonal model substantiate the view that endogenous melanocortin systems exert a tonic inhibition of food intake in mammals. The observations that this melanocortin tone occurs to a similar extent in both an anabolic state induced by a long day photoperiod, and in a catabolic state induced by a short day photoperiod, suggests that alterations in endogenous melanocortin tone are not the primary cause of the lipolysis, weight-loss and hypophagia which characterize the establishment of the short day-induced overwintering state.

Photoperiodic regulation of histamine H3 receptor and VGF messenger ribonucleic acid in the arcuate nucleus of the Siberian hamster.

To survive winter the Siberian hamster has evolved profound physiological and behavioral adaptations, including a moult to winter pelage, regression of the reproductive axis, onset of daily torpor and increased capacity for thermogenesis. However, one of the most striking adaptations is the catabolism of intraabdominal and sc fat reserves contributing to the loss of up to 40% of body weight. These physiological and behavioral adaptations are photoperiodically driven, yet neither the site(s) in the brain nor the molecular mechanism(s) involved in the regulation of these profound adaptations is known. Here we report a dynamic regulation of gene expression in a dorsal region of the medial posterior area of the arcuate nucleus (dmpARC) of the Siberian and Syrian hamster brain in response to altered photoperiod. We show mRNA for the histamine H3 receptor is down-regulated and VGF is up-regulated in the dmpARC in hamsters switched from long- to short-day photoperiod. These data provide further evidence to support the view that the dmpARC is a major site to relay photoperiodic changes and as a site for the long-term regulation of seasonal physiology and behavior.

Feeding and behavioural effects of central administration of the melanocortin 3/4-R antagonist SHU9119 in obese and lean Siberian hamsters.

Siberian hamsters accumulate fat reserves in long photoperiods, but show a long-term decrease in food intake and body weight when exposed to a short winter photoperiod. The aim of this study was to determine the role of central melanocortin 3/4 receptors (MC3/4-R) in generating this chronic catabolic state by investigating the effects of SHU9119, a MC3/4-R antagonist, on food intake and associated behaviours. In adult male hamsters, intra-cerebroventricular infusions of SHU9119 significantly increased food intake in a dose-dependent manner. The time course of action was slow, food intake being increased between 4 and 24 h after intra-cerebroventricular administration. A similar degree of increase in food intake occurred in fat hamsters in long days and in lean hamsters chronically exposed to short days. Intra-cerebroventricular treatment with MTII (a MC3/4-R agonist) significantly decreased food intake for up to 24 h after treatment, and SHU9119 reversed these suppressive effects between 4 and 24 h after treatment, a similar time course to that observed when SHU9119 was administered alone. We conclude that endogenous melanocortin peptides acting via MC3/4-R are involved in the regulation of food intake in hamsters in both anabolic and catabolic states, but these acute studies do not provide evidence that increased activity of this hypothalamic system underlies the seasonal decrease in food intake that contributes to the long-term catabolic state in short days.

Photoperiodic regulation of hypothalamic retinoid signaling: association of retinoid X receptor gamma with body weight.

This study reports novel events related to photoperiodic programming of the neuroendocrine hypothalamus. To investigate photoperiod-responsive genes, Siberian hamsters were maintained in long or short photoperiods that generate physiological states of obesity or leanness. Microarray expression analysis first identified CRBP1 as a photoperiod-responsive gene, and then further studies using in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry revealed that expression levels of several related retinoid-signaling genes were modulated in response to photoperiod changes. Genes of the retinoid-signaling pathway, encoding nuclear receptors (RXR/RAR) and retinoid binding proteins (CRBP1 and CRABP2) are photoperiodically regulated in the dorsal tuberomamillary nucleus (DTM): Their expression is significantly lower in short photoperiods and parallels body weight decreases. Studies in pinealectomized hamsters confirm that the pineal melatonin rhythm is necessary for these seasonal changes, and studies in testosterone-treated hamsters reveal that these changes in gene expression are not the secondary consequence of photoperiod-induced changes in steroid levels. Comparative studies using Syrian hamsters, which show divergent seasonal body weight responses to Siberian hamsters when exposed to short photoperiods, showed a distinct pattern of changes in retinoid gene expression in the DTM in response to a change in photoperiod. We infer that the DTM may be an important integrating center for photoperiodic control of seasonal physiology and suggest that the changes in retinoid X receptor gamma expression may be associated with seasonal changes in body weight and energy metabolism.

Central administration of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) and related peptides inhibits feeding behavior in the Siberian hamster.

Centrally acting thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH), independent of endocrine action, has been shown to regulate several metabolic and behavioral parameters in rats, including food intake and locomotor activity. The present study investigated and compared the effects of central TRH on feeding behavior in Siberian hamsters exposed to long (LP) or short (SP) photoperiods, which induce natural physiological states of obesity and leanness respectively. The effects of two TRH analogues, RX77368 (a metabolically stable TRH analogue) and TRH-Gly (an endogenous precursor to TRH with putative preferential action at the central TRH receptor, TRH-R2), were also investigated. All peptides were infused via the third ventricle (i.c.v.). Food intake was measured, and the proportion of time spent interacting with food, active or resting was scored. TRH (5 microg) significantly reduced food intake without producing associated changes in activity in hamsters maintained in both LP (p < 0.001) and SP (p < 0.05). A lower dose of TRH (0.5 microg) only decreased feeding significantly (p < 0.01) in hamsters exposed to SP, indicating that there may be an underlying difference in sensitivity to TRH depending on metabolic state. RX77368 (1 microg) produced substantial hypophagia (p < 0.001) and decreased the proportion of time spent interacting with food, but, unlike TRH, may produce this via an increase in locomotor activity. TRH-Gly (5 microg) produced a small decrease in food intake (p < 0.05), lasting for 6 h. We conclude that TRH and TRH analogues possess anorexigenic capacities in this species, with a likely site of action in the hypothalamus. Increased sensitivity to the hypophagic effects of central TRH may contribute to the long-term catabolic state induced by short photoperiods.

Decrease of food intake by MC4-R agonist MTII in Siberian hamsters in long and short photoperiods.

We investigated the role of the hypothalamic melanocortin system in the regulation of food intake in the Siberian hamster, which shows a profound seasonal decrease in food intake and body weight in short photoperiod (SP). In male hamsters maintained in long photoperiod (LP), intracerebroventricular injection of melanotan II (MTII) just before lights off significantly decreased food intake relative to vehicle treatment over the 6-h observation period. Similar effects were observed in age-matched hamsters after exposure to a short daylength for 9 wk, when body weight had significantly decreased. There was no clear difference in either the magnitude of response or the dose required for half-maximal inhibition of food intake in hamsters in SP compared with those in LP. MTII significantly increased grooming in both LP and SP. Our results indicate that the melanocortin system is a potent short-term regulator of food intake. However, the lack of differential response or sensitivity to MTII treatment in the obese (LP) vs. lean (SP) states does not support the hypothesis that changes in this melanocortin pathway underlie the long-term decrease in food intake that occurs in this seasonal model.

Entrainment of locomotor activity rhythm in pinealectomized adult Syrian hamsters by daily melatonin infusion.

Melatonin entrains circadian rhythms in several species of rodents, but a role for melatonin as a Zeitgeber in the adult Syrian hamster is debated. The aim of this study was to define the conditions of daily programmed melatonin infusion in which an entrainment of the locomotor activity rhythm is obtained in adult male Syrian hamsters. The animals were pinealectomized, cannulated with a subcutaneous infusion system and submitted to dim red light conditions. They were initially daily infused with vehicle until free-running was established. Then, the animals were divided into three experimental groups, each group corresponding to a specific melatonin dose and infusion duration: (1) 10 microg melatonin/h for 5 h; (2) 30 microg melatonin/h for 5 h; and (3) 50 microg melatonin/h for 1 h. Of the total 64 hamsters, 37 hamsters fully entrained to the melatonin infusion regardless of whether the animals expressed during pre-treatment a free-running period (tau)< or >24 h, 20 animals presented a transient entrainment and seven did not entrain. Of the 37 animals entrained, withdrawal of melatonin re-established free-running rhythms, although often with a different tau compared with that observed during pre-treatment. These results indicate that after a long time of daily infusion, melatonin is able to entrain the free-running rhythm in adult Syrian hamster. The mechanism involved is not known, but the change in tau observed after melatonin treatment in some animals suggests that melatonin, directly or indirectly, affects the functioning of the clock.