Figure 4.

Central VacA administration induces anorexia and anxiety via CRF receptors. (a,b) Cumulative food intake (a) and body weight (b) were measured for 5 days in mice that received a central subchronic infusion of VacA (n = 8). (c) Cumulative food intake was measured for 24 h in mice receiving ICV administration (n = 9). (d) Four hours after ICV administration of 0.6 pmol/kg bw of VacA in mice, orexigenic and anorexigenic peptide mRNA levels were measured in the hypothalamus (n = 10–11). ACSF was administered as the vehicle control. (e) Cumulative food intake was measured for 8 h in mice deprived of food overnight and treated with an ICV administration of 0.6 pmol/kg bw of VacA or vehicle followed by ICV administration of 120 nmol/kg bw of the CRF2 antagonist antisauvagine-30 (n = 6–9). (f,g) The percentage of time spent in the open arms (f) and total distance (g) were measured in mice 4 h after ICV administration of 0.6 pmol/kg bw of VacA or vehicle followed by ICV administration of 400 nmol/kg bw of the CRF1 antagonist NBI27914 (n = 5). The values are presented as the means ± SEM. Differences were considered significant at *p < 0.05 or **p < 0.01. AgRP, Agouti-related peptide; NPY, neuropeptide Y; MCH, melanin-concentrating hormone; POMC, proopiomelanocortin; CART, cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript; CRF, corticotropin-releasing factor; Ucn, urocortin; OXT, oxytocin; AVP, arginine vasopressin; LRP1, low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-1.