Fig. 1.

Study design. Ten- to 12-week old C57BL6 female mice were ovariectomised and implanted (s.c.) with a silastic capsule containing either 17β-oestradiol (E₂) (50 μg) dissolved in 25 μl 5% ETOH/sesame oil or vehicle (5% ETOH/sesame oil). Three days after surgery, half of the mice in each hormone group were started on a high-fat diet (HFD), whereas the other half remained on standard chow. From day 7 to day 16, mice were administered i.c.v. BrdU via an osmotic minipump. Thirty-four days after the start of BrdU infusion, mice were fasted overnight and injected with leptin (5 mg/kg, i.p.), 45 min prior to perfusion the following day.