Top: Daily food consumption in kcal following administration of control vector (closed circles) or rAAV-leptin to MBH (open circles) or VTA (closed squares). For clarity, the rats administered either control vector into the hypothalamus or into the VTA were combined into a single control group (rAAV-control). The rAAV-leptin or control vectors were administered at day 0 in rats maintained on a chow diet. The HF diet was introduced at day 4, and cumulative caloric intake was significantly different with rAAV-leptin treatment (MBH or VTA) from day 5 through day 14 (P<0.001, one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc analysis). After this period food consumption was not difference between the three groups for the remainder of the study.
Bottom: Change in body weight in rats following administration of control vector (closed circles) or rAAV-leptin to MBH (open circles) or VTA (closed squares). Delta body weight was significantly different with leptin treatment. (P<0.0001, two-way ANOVA with repeated measures) with significance obtained at day 5 for MBH and day 8 for VTA (P<0.001 by Bonferroni post-hoc analysis). Delta body was significantly different between MBH and VTA treated groups between days 5 and 14 (P <0.01, Bonferroni post-hoc analysis). Values represent the mean ± SE of 8 rats per group.