Adrenal modulation of opiate induced feeding

Endogenous opioid modulation of food intake and body weight: Implications for opioid influences upon motivation and addiction

This review is part of a special issue dedicated to Opioid addiction, and examines the influential role of opioid peptides, opioid receptors and opiate drugs in mediating food intake and body weight control in rodents. This review postulates that opioid mediation of food intake was an example of "positive addictive" properties that provide motivational drives to maintain opioid-seeking behavior and that are not subject to the "negative addictive" properties associated with tolerance, dependence and withdrawal. Data demonstrate that opiate and opioid peptide agonists stimulate food intake through homeostatic activation of sensory, metabolic and energy-related In contrast, general, and particularly mu-selective, opioid receptor antagonists typically block these homeostatically-driven ingestive behaviors. Intake of palatable and hedonic food stimuli is inhibited by general, and particularly mu-selective, opioid receptor antagonists. The selectivity of specific opioid agonists to elicit food intake was confirmed through the use of opioid receptor antagonists and molecular knockdown (antisense) techniques incapacitating specific exons of opioid receptor genes. Further extensive evidence demonstrated that homeostatic and hedonic ingestive situations correspondingly altered the levels and expression of opioid peptides and opioid receptors. Opioid mediation of food intake was controlled by a distributed brain network intimately related to both the appetitive-consummatory sites implicated in food intake as well as sites intimately involved in reward and reinforcement. This emergent system appears to sustain the "positive addictive" properties providing motivational drives to maintain opioid-seeking behavior.

Minireview: Characterization of influence of central nociceptin/orphanin FQ on consummatory behavior

Nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ), a peptide closely related to dynorphin A, is the endogenous agonist of the NOP receptor that moderately increases food intake under various conditions. Its orexigenic properties are mediated by the brain circuitry. In the present review, we focus on discussing the nature of hyperphagic effects of N/OFQ with special emphasis on its function within feeding-related neural networks. Although some of N/OFQ's orexigenic effects resemble those induced by opioids, reward-dependent feeding appears to be affected in a different manner by agonists of the NOP and classical opioid receptors. Also, data suggest that N/OFQ may not only promote feeding initiation, but rather its role may be to inhibit signaling responsible for inhibition of consummatory behavior. Central systems involved in termination of feeding that seem to be influenced by N/OFQ encompass oxytocin, alpha-MSH, and CRH.

Endogenous opioids and feeding behavior: a 30-year historical perspective

This invited review, based on the receipt of the Third Gayle A. Olson and Richard D. Olson Prize for the publication of the outstanding behavioral article published in the journal Peptides in 2002, examines the 30-year historical perspective of the role of the endogenous opioid system in feeding behavior. The review focuses on the advances that this field has made over the past 30 years as a result of the timely discoveries that were made concerning this important neuropeptide system, and how these discoveries were quickly applied to the analysis of feeding behavior and attendant homeostatic processes. The discoveries of the opioid receptors and opioid peptides, and the establishment of their relevance to feeding behavior were pivotal in studies performed in the 1970s. The 1980s were characterized by the establishment of opioid receptor subtype agonists and antagonists and their relevance to the modulation of feeding behavior as well as by the use of general opioid antagonists in demonstrating the wide array of ingestive situations and paradigms involving the endogenous opioid system. The more recent work from the 1990s to the present, utilizes the advantages created by the cloning of the opioid receptor genes, the development of knockout and knockdown techniques, the systematic utilization of a systems neuroscience approach, and establishment of the reciprocity of how manipulations of opioid peptides and receptors affect feeding behavior with how feeding states affect levels of opioid peptides and receptors. The role of G-protein effector systems in opioid-mediated feeding responses, which was the subject of the prize-winning article, is then reviewed.

Morphine-induced feeding: a comparison of the Lewis and Fischer 344 inbred rat strains

Rats of the Lewis inbred strain have been shown to self-administer more morphine than rats of the inbred Fischer 344 (F344) strain. Because morphine reward and opioid-induced feeding may involve a common mechanism, we measured whether these strains also differ in their feeding response to morphine. In Experiment 1, rats were maintained on powdered rat chow and given SC injections of morphine sulfate (1, 3, and 10 mg/kg) and saline; all rats were tested with all doses. Food intake was measured 2, 4, and 6 h after injection. In Experiment 2, rats were given a choice of two diets: a fat/protein diet and a carbohydrate/protein diet. Feeding responses to morphine were measured in a manner identical to that in Experiment 1. In both experiments, the feeding response to morphine was greater in Lewis rats than in F344 rats. To determine whether these responses might be explained by differences in the levels of morphine achieved in the blood or brain, rats of each strain were given SC injections of morphine sulfate (3 mg/kg) and sacrificed either 30 min or 3 h after injection. Serum and brain morphine levels were determined by radioimmunoassay. Lewis rats had significantly less brain morphine than F344 rats at 30 min; they did not differ in morphine content at 3 h. Serum levels were similar at 30 min; at 3 h, F344 rats had slightly lower levels than Lewis rats. Thus, differences in tissue levels cannot readily explain the differences in feeding responses to morphine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Gut-CNS peptide hormones, digestive dysfunction, and colon cancer

Dietary modification as protection against coronary heart disease and diet-related cancers has been recommended, yet the central nervous system (CNS)-neuroendocrine control of eating behavior and digestion is poorly understood. Maintenance of nutritional homeostasis (and therefore of an ideal body weight) requires a balance between appetite and satiety that currently appears to be related to CNS-peptide hormones stimulating feeding counteracted by the release of gut satiety peptide hormones. This review stresses the importance of the composition of luminal nutrients on colonic motility and the release of peptide hormones; it also discusses the interaction of the CNS and environmental factors on colonic activity and the relationship to diet-related diseases.

Experimental manipulations of eating: advances in animal models for studying anorectic agents

The material set out in this text has been designed to show the wide range of procedures which have the capacity to modify eating behavior--to produce hyper- or hypophagia, to alter the profile of eating patterns, or to adjust dietary preferences and selection. Accordingly, in investigating anorectic drugs it seems necessary to observe the effects of drug actions in a variety of experimental models. This strategy will provide a more complete description of the effect of a drug, will throw light on the mechanism of action, and will provide a more realistic base for predicting the effects of drugs in man.

Adrenalectomy and the anorectic effects of benzodiazepine inverse agonists and opiate antagonists in rats fed a palatable diet

The benzodiazepine (BZ) receptor inverse agonists, FG 7142 (1.25-10.0 mg/kg, IP) and CGS 8216 (2.5-20.0 mg/kg, IP), significantly attenuated the consumption of a palatable sweetened diet by non-deprived male rats in a 30 min test. Adrenalectomy failed to affect the reduction in food intake produced by these two drugs. Similarly, the anorectic effects of the opiate antagonists, naltrexone (0.3-3.0 mg/kg, SC) and diprenorphine (0.3-3.0 mg/kg, SC) in the same feeding paradigm were unaffected by adrenalectomy. So far as palatability-induced feeding in concerned, anorectic effects of BZ inverse agonists and opiate-antagonists appear to be adrenal-independent in the rat. The benzodiazepines, clonazepam (0.3 mg/kg, IP) and diazepam (1.0 mg/kg, IP), stimulated food consumption in both adrenalectomized and sham-operated animals.

Naloxone but not CCK-8 may attenuate binge-eating behavior in patients with the bulimia syndrome

We undertook a study to see if putative anorectic agents could attenuate binge eating episodes in bulimic patients. Bolus intravenous administration, followed by continuous intravenous infusion of naloxone, resulted in a significant decrease in the amount of food consumed during binge-eating episodes, whereas bolus followed by continuous intravenous infusion of CCK-8 failed to significantly suppress binge eating behavior. These results suggest that the endogenous opioid system is involved in the maintenance of binge eating behavior in patients with bulimia.

Endorphins and food intake: kappa opioid receptor agonists and hyperphagia

Evidence from studies which utilise either opiate receptor agonists and antagonists strongly indicate a role for endorphinergic mechanisms in the control of feeding responses. Two means by which these compounds may exert an effect on feeding can be singled-out. Firstly, emerging evidence suggests that the process of achieving satiety (terminating a meal, or choice of a commodity) may be accelerated following treatments with opiate receptor antagonists. Secondly, the preference for highly palatable solutions (sweet solutions have received most attention) in two-bottle tests is blocked after injection of opiate receptor antagonists. This finding has been interpreted in terms of the abolition of the reward or incentive quality associated with the particularly attractive flavour. These two mechanisms of action may represent two aspects of a single, fundamental process. Following an introduction to rat urination model of in vivo kappa agonist activity, the consistent effect of several kappa agonists (including the highly selective U-50,488H) to stimulate food consumption is described. Recognising that members of the dynorphin group of endogenous opioid peptides are kappa receptor ligands, some with a high degree of selectivity, and the evidence the dynorphins and neo-endorphins produce hyperphagia in rats is particularly interesting. Such lines of evidence lead to the hypothesis that peptides of the dynorphin group may act endogenously to promote the expression of normal feeding behaviour.

Opioids and consummatory behavior

Since the second decade of this century it has been known that opiates can influence ingestive behaviors. Generally, opioid agents enhance feeding and opioid antagonists decrease feeding. The present paper reviews the responsiveness of different animal species to opiates in relation to ingestive behaviors, the opioid receptors involved in such consummatory behaviors, the site of action of opioid modulation of feeding, the role of glucose in opioid induced feeding, and endocrine effects on opioid feeding systems. We emphasize the finding that more than one opioid receptor is involved in the modulation of feeding. A large body of evidence indicates a major role for the dynorphin/alpha-neo-endorphin kappa opioid receptor as one of the receptors involved in feeding modulation. Opioids appear to exert their effect predominantly within the central nervous system, though peripheral effects on taste and gastrointestinal function may play a role in opioid-induced feeding. Although opioid blockade acutely blocks food intake, chronic administration of opiate antagonists to humans and laboratory animals has not proven to be an effective means of decreasing body weight. Chronic opiate administration decreases body weight and autosensitization of beta-endorphin increases body weight. Thus, although it is clear that opioids can effect food intake, it is not clear what effect chronic administration of opioids has no food intake or body weight.

Endogenous opiates: 1983

This paper is the sixth in an annual series of reviews of research involving the endogenous opiates, each installment being restricted to work published during the previous year. Although the early articles in the series attempted to be comprehensive and cover the complete range of research with the opiate peptides, in the last two years we have limited our coverage to non-analgesic and behavioral work due to the enormous number of articles published in the field. The specific areas discussed here include stress, tolerance and dependence, consummatory responses, other gastrointestinal functions, interactions with alcohol, mental illness, learning and memory, cardiovascular responses, respiratory effects, thermoregulation, neurological disorders, activity, and miscellaneous other topics. As in previous years, we have attempted to present a relatively complete review of the subjects covered only for the previous year and generally have not tried to evaluate their contributions relative to those of past years.