Table 3. Summary of changes in hypothalamus structure and function.
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Males
|
Females
|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
CR vs C | CR-Leptin vs C | CR vs C | CR-Leptin vs C | |
| ARC | Number of cells | – | – | ↑ | – |
| Area of cells | – | – | – | – | |
| Cell density | – | – | – | – | |
| Number of NPY+ cells | ↓ | – | – | – | |
| % of NPY+ cells | – | – | – | – | |
| PVN | Number of cells | ↓ | – | – | – |
| Area of cells | – | – | – | – | |
| Cell density | – | – | ↑ | – | |
| NPY+ fiber area | – | – | – | – | |
| % of NPY+ fiber area | ↑ | – | ↑ | – | |
| ObRb mRNA levels | – | ↑ | – | – | |
| SOCS-3 mRNA levels | ↓ | – | ↑ | – | |
| NPY mRNA levels | ↓ | – | – | – | |
| AgRP mRNA levels | – | – | – | – | |
| POMC mRNA levels | – | – | – | ↑ | |
| CART mRNA levels | ↓ | – | – | – | |
Arrows (↑ or ↓) indicates significant changes (increase or decrease, respectively) occurring in the male and female offspring of 20% calorie restricted dams during the first 12 days of pregnancy (CR) vs controls and in CR rats daily supplemented with physiological doses of leptin throughout lactation (CR-Leptin) vs controls; - indicates no significant changes. Notably, changes occurring in CR animals versus controls were not present in CR-Leptin animals versus controls, which is indicative that oral leptin during lactation is able to revert, at least partly, most of the sex-dependent neuroanatomic consequences in the offspring caused by moderate maternal caloric restriction during gestation. See material and methods for statistical details.