The responses of metabolic rate and neuropeptides to food deprivation in striped hamsters (Cricetulus barabensis) with different basal metabolic rate.

Jing Wen, Qing-Sheng Chi, De-Hua Wang, Zhi-Jun Zhao

Journal of experimental zoology. Part A, Ecological and integrative physiology 2020 Aug

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High basal metabolic rate (BMR) is related to a powerful metabolic engine even under food shortage, which can lead to high levels of daily energy expenditure and requires more energy for maintenance in small mammals. To test the hypothesis that animals with different BMR levels respond differently to food shortage, we compared the changes in metabolism, morphology, and gene expression in response to food deprivation (FD) in male-striped hamsters (Cricetulus barabensis) with low (L)- or high (H)-BMR levels. After 36 hr of FD, energy expenditure, metabolic rate (MR), mass of body composition, and leptin and agouti-related peptide gene expressions in the white adipose tissues and the hypothalamus, respectively, decreased significantly in hamsters. The energy expenditure of H-BMR hamsters was reduced more than that of L-BMR hamsters after 36 hr of FD. Furthermore, MR was significantly reduced by FD, and that of the H-BMR group decreased more than that of the L-BMR group during the daytime. Therefore, our data suggest that striped hamsters with different BMR display different responses to variations in food availability. During FD, MR in H-BMR hamsters was more flexible than that in L-BMR animals and L-BMR hamsters could not reduce their MR any lower. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Citation

Jing Wen, Qing-Sheng Chi, De-Hua Wang, Zhi-Jun Zhao. The responses of metabolic rate and neuropeptides to food deprivation in striped hamsters (Cricetulus barabensis) with different basal metabolic rate. Journal of experimental zoology. Part A, Ecological and integrative physiology. 2020 Aug;333(7):483-492