QTLs influencing carbohydrate and fat choice in a LOU/CxFischer 344 F2 rat population.

Objective: Individual differences in macronutrient selection, particularly fat and carbohydrate, and associated body weight gain are partly inherited as polygenic traits, but the potential genetic pathways are unknown. To give an overview of the Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) and candidate gene pathways influencing these differences in rat was aimed in this study.

Design And Methods: To that end, F2 rats obtained from the crossbreeding between LOU/C and Fischer 344 rat strains to diet self-selection during 3 weeks were submitted.

Lactose malabsorption and colonic fermentations alter host metabolism in rats.

Lactose malabsorption is associated with rapid production of high levels of osmotic compounds, such as organic acids and SCFA in the colon, suspected to contribute to the onset of lactose intolerance. Adult rats are lactase deficient and the present study was conducted to evaluate in vivo the metabolic consequences of acute lactose ingestion, including host-microbiota interactions. Rats received diets of 25% sucrose (S25 control group) or 25% lactose (L25 experimental group).

Acute stress modifies food choice in Wistar male and female rats.

The present study investigates the effects of acute stress (15 min of swimming/day for three consecutive days) applied at the onset of the dark phase, just before the usual feeding time, on energy intake and more specifically on macronutrient selection, in male and female Wistar rats. The influence of stress regarding corticosterone and insulin kinetics was also examined. In the two experiments (1: food ad lib and 2: two feeding periods/day), three consecutive days of stress reduced daily body weight gain for both sexes.

C57BL/6J and A/J mice fed a high-fat diet delineate components of metabolic syndrome.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the suitability of A/J and C57BL/6J mice of both sexes as models of some components of the human metabolic syndrome (MetS) under nutritional conditions more comparable with the actual worldwide diet responsible for the increased incidence of the MetS.

Research Methods: We fed large cohorts (n = 515) of two strains of mice, A/J and the C57BL/6J, and of both sexes a high-fat diet (HFD; 60% fat) that, in contrast with most previous reports using saturated fats, was enriched in mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, thus more closely mimicking most Western diets, or a control diet (10% fat), for 20 weeks.

Results: In sharp contrast to previous reports, weight gain and hyperleptinemia were similar in both strains and sexes.

Comparison of energy balance in two inbred strains of rats: Fischer F344 prone to obesity and Lou rats resistant to obesity.

This study aimed to compare energy balance, metabolic profiles and body composition between two inbred strains of rats (F344 and Lou) submitted to a self-selecting macronutrient. During the 3 weeks of experiment, the two strains did not differ significantly for their total energy intake; males: F344 = 5875.4 +/- 171.

In vivo leptin infusion impairs insulin and leptin signalling in liver and hypothalamus.

Leptin resistance contributes to the pathogenesis of common obesity related metabolic diseases, including insulin resistance. However, the relationship between leptin and insulin resistance is not clearly established. Here, we show that induced hyperleptinemia by leptin infusion alters insulin signalling in rat liver.

Cryptosporidium infection impairs growth and muscular protein synthesis in suckling rats.

This study aimed to explore the metabolic consequences of cryptosporidiosis in an acute experimental model both at the peak of infection and after parasite clearance. Four-day-old suckling rats were infected with 10(6) oocysts of Cryptosporidium parvum. At the peak of infection (day 8 PI), C.

Acute third ventricular administration of leptin decreases protein and fat in self-selecting rats.

The peripheral administration of leptin reduces food intake (FI) body weight gain (BWG) and modifies food choice. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of acute cerebral injections of leptin on food selection in rats. Male rats were first adapted to the food choice paradigm (protein, carbohydrate, fat) for 3 weeks.

Comparison of fat storage between Fischer 344 and obesity-resistant Lou/C rats fed different diets.

Objective: We aimed to characterize further the Lou/C (LOU) and Fischer 344 (F344) rat strains for nutritional traits to validate their use as contrasting strains for molecular genetic studies.

Research Methods And Procedures: Five batches of LOU and F344 rats were used to measure caloric intake, weight gain, and body composition when fed a chow diet, a self-selection diet (together with the study of preferences for macronutrients), hypercaloric diets, and a chow diet in a cold environment.

Results: Despite a higher caloric intake when fed a chow diet, LOU rats showed a lower weight gain, final body weight, and percentage of fat tissue, together with a higher percentage of carcass weight, than F344 rats.

Intraperitoneal leptin modifies macronutrient choice in self-selecting rats.

This study aimed to evaluate the consequences on food intake and body weight (BW) of leptin administration in rats receiving a choice between the three macronutrients. Two studies were performed: during the first, rats received an acute intraperitoneal (IP) leptin administration (1 mg/kg) twice (at 8 and 14 weeks of age), at the beginning of the nocturnal cycle, while during the second, they received a chronic leptin infusion (osmotic minipump, 7 days). The total 24-h food intake after acute leptin injections was reduced by 14% and 17%, respectively.

Total subdiaphragmatic vagotomy does not suppress high protein diet-induced food intake depression in rats.

This study was undertaken to determine whether the subdiaphragmatic vagus nerve is involved in the depression of food intake induced by the ingestion of a high protein diet (P50) in rats. After total subdiaphragmatic vagotomy (Vago group) or sham surgery (Sham group), rats consumed the control diet for a 2-wk recovery period and then both groups consumed the high protein diet for 16 d. Daily food intake, meal pattern analysis and behavioral satiety sequence were measured.

A high-protein diet enhances satiety without conditioned taste aversion in the rat.

In order to determine the respective roles of conditioned food aversion, satiety and palatability, we studied behavioral responses to a 50% total milk protein diet, compared with those to a normal protein diet containing 14% total milk protein. Different paradigms were employed, including meal pattern analysis, two-choice testing, flavor testing, a behavioral satiety sequence (BSS) and taste reactivity. Our experiments showed that only behavioral and food intake parameters were disturbed during the first day when an animal ate the high-protein (P50) diet, and that most parameters returned to baseline values as soon as the second day of P50.

Wistar rats allowed to self-select macronutrients from weaning to maturity choose a high-protein, high-lipid diet.

The aim of this work was to study the evolution of rat food choice in relation to their age and metabolic parameters. Eighty Wistar rats were studied from birth to 13 weeks of age. At weaning, six litters were fed on a macronutrient self-selecting diet and four on a standard diet.