Effects of intracerebroventricular administration of neuropeptide Y on metabolic gene expression and energy metabolism in male rats

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is an important neurotransmitter in the control of energy metabolism. Several studies have shown that obesity is associated with increased levels of NPY in the hypothalamus. We hypothesized that the central release of NPY has coordinated and integrated effects on energy metabolism in different tissues, resulting in increased energy storage and decreased energy expenditure (EE). We first investigated the acute effects of an intracerebroventricular (ICV) infusion of NPY on gene expression in liver, brown adipose tissue (BAT), soleus muscle (sMuscle), and subcutaneous and epididymal white adipose tissue (sWAT and eWAT). We found increased expression of genes involved in gluconeogenesis and triglyceride secretion in the liver already 2h after the start of the NPY administration. In BAT, the expression of thermogenic genes was decreased. In sWAT, the expression of genes involved in lipogenesis was increased, whereas in sMuscle the expression of lipolytic genes was decreased after ICV NPY. These findings indicate that the ICV infusion of NPY acutely and simultaneously increases lipogenesis and decreases lipolysis in different tissues. Subsequently, we investigated the acute effects of ICV NPY on locomotor activity, respiratory exchange ratio (RER), EE and body temperature. The ICV infusion of NPY increased locomotor activity, body temperature and EE as well as RER. Together, these results show that an acutely increased central availability of NPY results in a shift of metabolism towards lipid storage and an increased use of carbohydrates, while at the same time increasing activity, EE and body temperature.