Obese male zucker rats show basilar dendritic retraction in the medial prefrontal cortex.

Heliyon

Laboratorio de Neurofisiología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Edificio BIO1, Ciudad Universitaria, CP 72570, Puebla, Puebla, Mexico.

Published: November 2024

Obesity, a prevalent disorder, predisposes individuals to metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and high blood pressure. Obesity has been investigated in various organisms that display genetic, high-fat, and high-carbohydrate diet (HFCD)-induced obesity. Recent studies have found that both male and female Zucker rats, which are genetically obese, exhibit alterations in dendritic arborization of neurons in certain structures of the central nervous system. Therefore, the present study aimed to analyze dendritic arborization and dendritic spine density of pyramidal neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of obese adult male Zucker rats using the Golgi-Cox method and Sholl analysis. Obese male Zucker rats exhibit increased body weight and high concentrations of glucose, triglycerides, and cholesterol. Analysis of mPFC pyramidal neurons in these rats revealed basilar dendritic retraction at a medium distance from the soma, in addition to a reduction in total basilar dendritic length, without any changes in dendritic spine density. These findings are consistent with previous reports, indicating that changes in dendritic retraction may occur as a result of the leptin receptor mutation itself, in addition to the reduction in dendritic arborization observed in other regions of the central nervous system in rats. Furthermore, we suggest the possibility that biological processes modulated by the mPFC, such as foraging and social behavior, are also affected.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11583711PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e40210DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

zucker rats
16
male zucker
12
basilar dendritic
12
dendritic retraction
12
dendritic arborization
12
dendritic
9
obese male
8
medial prefrontal
8
prefrontal cortex
8
central nervous
8

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!