Effects of food deprivation, strain, diet and age on feeding responses of fowls to intravenous injections of cholecystokinin

Gut Hormones and Regulation of Food Intake in Birds

Gut hormones act as appetite regulatory hormones in mammals. For example, the hunger hormone ghrelin, which is released from the stomach before food intake, stimulates appetite. In contrast, satiety hormones such as cholecystokinin, glucagon-like peptide-1, and peptide YY, which are released from the intestines after food intake, suppress appetite. The effects of these peptides on food intake have been shown to be similar in both mammals and fishes. However, evidence suggests that the physiological roles of these gut hormones may be different between birds and other vertebrates. This review summarizes the current information on the roles of gut hormones in the regulation of food intake in birds, especially in chickens.

Expression and Regulation of Cholecystokinin Receptor in the Chicken's Immune Organs and Cells

Cholecystokinin (CCK) is a neuropeptide that affects growth rate in chickens by regulating appetite. CCK peptides exert their function by binding to two identified receptors, CCKAR and CCKBR in the GI tract and the brain, respectively, as well as in other organs. In mammals, CCK/CCKAR interactions affect a number of immunological parameters, including regulation of lymphocytes and functioning of monocytes. Thus, food intake and growth can potentially be altered by infection and the resulting inflammatory immune response. It is uncertain, however, whether chicken express CCKAR in immune organs and cells, and, if so, whether CCKAR expression is regulated by pathogen derived inflammatory stimuli. Herein, we identify expression of CCKAR protein in chicken peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) including monocytes, and expression of the CCKAR gene in PBMC, thymus, bursa, and spleen, in selected commercial and pure chicken breeds. Further, stimulation with various types of E. coli heat-labile enterotoxins or lipopolysaccharide significantly regulated expression of CCKAR on monocytes in the different breeds. Ligation of CCKAR with antibodies in PBMC induced mobilization of Ca²⁺, indicating that CCKAR is signal competent. Injection with polyinosinic: polycytidylic acid (poly I:C), a synthetic analogue of double stranded viral RNA that binds Toll-Like Receptor-3 (TLR3), also regulated gene expressions of CCKAR and proinflammatory cytokines, in the different breeds. Interestingly, variations in the expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines in the different breeds were highly correlated with CCKAR expression levels. Taken together, these findings indicate that the physiological function of CCKAR in the chicken is tightly regulated in immune organs and cells by external inflammatory stimuli, which in turn regulate growth. This is the first report CCKAR expression in immune organs and cells, in any species, and the initial observation that CCKAR is regulated by inflammatory stimuli associated with bacterial and viral infection.

Decreased expression of the satiety signal receptor CCKAR is responsible for increased growth and body weight during the domestication of chickens

Animal domestication has resulted in changes in growth and size. It has been suggested that this may have involved selection for differences in appetite. Divergent growth between chickens selected for egg laying or meat production is one such example. The neurons expressing AGRP and POMC in the basal hypothalamus are important components of appetite regulation, as are the satiety feedback pathways that carry information from the intestine, including CCK and its receptor CCKAR (CCK1 receptor). Using 16 generations of a cross between a fast and a relatively slow growing strain of chicken has identified a region on chromosome 4 downstream of the CCKAR gene, which is responsible for up to a 19% difference in body weight at 12 wk of age. Animals possessing the high-growth haplotype at the locus have lower expression of mRNA and immunoreactive CCKAR in the brain, intestine, and exocrine organs, which is correlated with increased levels of orexigenic AGRP in the hypothalamus. Animals with the high-growth haplotype are resistant to the anorectic effect of exogenously administered CCK, suggesting that their satiety set point has been altered. Comparison with traditional breeds shows that the high-growth haplotype has been present in the founders of modern meat-type strains and may have been selected early in domestication. This is the first dissection of the physiological consequences of a genetic locus for a quantitative trait that alters appetite and gives us an insight into the domestication of animals. This will allow elucidation of how differences in appetite occur in birds and also mammals.

Temporal control of feeding behaviour and its association with gastrointestinal function

This paper summarises knowledge about temporal control of ad libitum feeding in poultry, from minute to minute, hour to hour and day to day, and about how it relates to aspects of gastrointestinal function. Evidence is presented of only loose control over initiation and termination of spontaneous meals, and it is proposed that degrees of hunger and satiety determine probabilities of feeding starting and stopping. Voluntary regulation of food intake can be considered in terms of adjustments in mean meal size, meal frequency or both. Short-term variation is associated more with meal frequency and longer-term changes more with meal size. Short-term adjustments appear to depend more on alimentary control and longer-term adjustments more on metabolic control (not considered here). Long-term changes affecting meal size are associated with changes in capacity of parts of the alimentary tract. Food can accumulate in the crop and gizzard, and meal initiation and termination are associated with varying degrees of emptying and filling of these diverticula during most of the day. Later in the day there is usually a conditioned change to cumulative filling of the crop (and gizzard) with food that is digested overnight. Possible roles of osmo-/chemoreceptors and gut peptides are discussed.

Food for thought: a critique on the hypothesis that endogenous cholecystokinin acts as a physiological satiety factor

This review evaluates the various lines of evidence supporting the hypothesis that cholecystokinin (CCK) released from the small intestine during feeding plays a physiological satiety. Issues considered include, the effects of systemic injection of CCK on consummatory and operant feeding, the role of the vagus nerve, the effects of CCKB receptor antagonists, and the neuroendocrine responses to exogenous CCK. A critical appraisal of this research indicates that while it is clearly demonstratable that exogenous peripheral CCK can alter food intake by acting on CCKA receptors, the mechanism involved may be more closely related to the induction if aversion and nausea, rather than satiety. With regard to peripheral endogenous CCK, the available evidence also does not seem to support a role for the hormone in satiety. In particular, it is doubtful whether plasma concentrations of CCK following a meal are sufficiently high to inhibit feeding. Moreover, CCKA receptor antagonist which do not cross the blood brain barrier fail to increase meal size, as would be expected if peripheral CCK was an effective satiety factor. In addition, the recent literature concerned with the possibility that CCK may have a direct action within the brain in the control of food intake has been reviewed. These studies show that CCK administered intracerebroventicularly, or by micoinjection into discrete brain regions, also inhibits feeding via a CCKA receptor mechanism. However, the physiological relevance of these findings have yet to be determined.

Intracerebroventricular injection of CCK reduces operant sugar intake in pigs

Pigs have a strong appetite for sugar solutions and readily learn to perform operant responses (pressing a panel with their snouts) to obtain glucose solution. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of 1 microgram CCK produced a significant (p < 0.01) reduction in the amount of glucose consumed compared with saline in the 30 min following injection. The reduction was a central effect as the same dose of CCK was ineffective given intravenously. The inhibition of intake was completely abolished by prior dosing with 100 micrograms of the CCKA receptor antagonist Devazepide given ICV. Devazepide itself had no effect on intake. The pig is a good experimental animal for the study of the regulation of sugar intake.

Exogenous cholecystokinin octapeptide in broiler chickens: satiety, conditioned colour aversion, and vagal mediation

Intraperitoneal injections of 3.5, 7.0, 14.0, and 28.0 micrograms/kg of CCK-8 into free-feeding broiler chickens significantly reduced food intake and delayed feeding (p < 0.05). To determine whether CCK can condition preference or aversion and to investigate the latency and the reversal of the effect, a low (2 micrograms/kg) and a high (14 micrograms/kg) dose of CCK-8 were administered using the coloured food paradigm. One colour, the conditioning stimulus (CS+), was paired with injections of CCK-8; the other colour was paired with injections of saline (CS-). The 2 micrograms/kg dose of CCK-8 neither reduced food intake nor conditioned a colour aversion. The 14 micrograms/kg dose significantly reduced food intake and conditioned a colour aversion (p < 0.05). When vagotomy was performed, the 14 micrograms/kg dose of CCK suppressed feeding in sham-operated birds (p < 0.05) but not in vagotomized birds (p > 0.05). A significant aversion for the food paired with CCK was obtained in sham-operated birds (p < 0.001) but not in vagotomized birds (p > 0.05). It was concluded that IP injections of CCK-8 reduce food intake in broiler chickens and that chicks can learn to associate the colour of the food with injections of CCK, developing an aversion. It was also shown that the vagus nerve mediates the CCK satiety effects and that aversion conditioning to CCK is dependent upon intact vagal innervation of the viscera.

Effects of the CCK receptor antagonist MK-329 on food intake in broiler chickens

The cholecystokinin (CCK) receptor antagonist MK-329 (previously L-364,718) was administered intraperitoneally to free-feeding broiler chickens and tested for conditioning effects using the colored food paradigm. The 8.0, 16.0, and 32.0 micrograms/kg doses of MK-329 did not exert any effect on food intake and failed to condition a color preference or aversion. When higher doses were used (90, 180, and 360 micrograms/kg) MK-329 caused a significant increase in food intake during the 2-h test period. Intravenously injected MK-329 (70, 140, and 280 micrograms/kg) produced an increase in food intake, with maximum increases occurring at a dose of 70 micrograms/kg. CCK (14 micrograms/kg) caused a reduction in feeding, and this effect was not blocked by pretreatment with intraperitoneal injection of MK-329 (32, 90, 180, and 360 micrograms/kg). The results question the role of endogenous CCK in satiety in chickens.

[The regulation of feed intake and selection with special reference to poultry]

Feed intake is regulated in a dialogue between the animal and the feed, which is influenced by numerous factors. The hypothalamus has a central integrative function. Furthermore, caudal brain areas (medulla oblongata, pons) are of importance because these areas are relays of peripheral signals and gustatory afferents. All peripheral informations are integrated by various neurotransmitters and neurohormones. The function of this neuronal system is not exactly known yet. Sensorial informations, mechano-, chemo- and osmoreceptors of the gastrointestinal tract and gastrointestinal hormones are discussed as influences of the periphery. The physiological satiety function of cholecystokinin is questionable in poultry. Hepatic chemoreceptors, which are activated by various metabolites, influence the amount of feed ingested. The feed choice appears to be regulated by the same mechanisms. Our knowledge about the translation of peripheral signals into choice behaviour by changes of neurotransmitter systems is limited.

Peripheral and central control of food intake

To either increase or decrease body weight of poultry, an understanding of food intake regulation is essential. Although it is advantageous to increase food intake in market birds, it is desirable to decrease intake in breeders. Recent studies have shown that the digestive tract, liver, and brain are all involved in food intake regulation. In this review, the role of various neurotransmitters and metabolic substrates in food intake regulation, both within the central nervous system as well as in the periphery, is discussed. In addition, how the strain of the bird or the physiological state of the animal influences the response to various compounds is discussed.

Feeding responses to infusions of glucose solutions into the duodenum of cockerels and the influences of pre-fasting or vagotomy

1. The duodenum of cockerels was chronically catheterised, to study the effects of 3 h infusions of glucose solutions on voluntary food intake. 2. Compared to water, solutions containing 30, 60 and 90 g glucose/l infused at 1 ml/min induced significant, dose-related depressions in intake after the first 30 min of infusion. 3. Fasting the birds for 3 h before the start of infusion resulted in higher intakes during the period of infusion than in unfasted birds. 4. Vagotomy at the level of the proventriculus prevented the inhibitory effects of glucose infusion into the duodenum, except at the highest concentration (120 g/l).

An alternative explanation for apparent satiating properties of peripherally administered bombesin and cholecystokinin in domestic fowls

This paper describes a series of experiments with domestic fowls designed to investigate different effects of peripherally administered bombesin (BBS) and cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK8), with a view to gaining a better understanding of their proposed roles as physiological satiety signals. Following intravenous injections of 1-10 micrograms/kg BBS or CCK8, short periods of complete inhibition of feeding coincided with periods of abnormal gizzard motility, and longer periods of reduced feeding were associated with periods of abnormal gastrointestinal (GI) motility. Increases in heart rate, measured in a separate experiment, coincided with the periods of altered GI and feeding activities. Effects of the peptides on GI motility and feeding were strongly related to dose with CCK8, but not with BBS, and effects of (2 micrograms/kg) BBS and CCK8 on feeding were additive. Evidence from conditioned avoidance tests suggested that consequences of (10 micrograms/kg) BBS and CCK8 injections may be mildly aversive, perhaps more so with BBS, and in another experiment inhibition of feeding by (8 micrograms/kg) BBS (but not CCK8) was almost abolished in birds tranquillised with a reserpine derivative drug. CCK8 was more potent than BBS at suppressing feeding only when relatively high doses (8 and 10 micrograms/kg) were injected. It is suggested that peripherally administered BBS and CCK8 may act on feeding in similar ways, with animals being distracted by possible abdominal discomfort associated with the abnormal GI responses. The results indicate that immediate discomfort may be more severe with BBS, but that discomfort associated with CCK8 may last longer. It is further suggested that satiating properties of the peptides are less apparent in situations where animals are less easily distracted by discomfort, when their arousal is reduced, when their perception of discomfort is reduced and when their motivation to feed is increased.

Influence of vagotomy in domestic fowls on feeding activity, food passage, digestibility and satiety effects of two peptides

The effects of bilateral vagotomy at the level of the proventriculus, in immature female fowls (VAG), on body weight, feeding activity parameters, rate of food passage, digestibility, and satiety effects of bombesin (BBS) and cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK8), were compared with those in sham-operated controls (SHAM). SHAM birds gained weight at a greater rate postoperatively than before their operation, whereas VAG birds did not. Daily food intake did not change significantly as a result of the operation with either SHAM or VAG birds, and the only effect on feeding activity parameters was on the length of intermeal intervals, which increased in VAG birds. Rate of passage of the layers' mash diet was slower, and its apparent digestibility lower, in VAG than in SHAM birds. Short-term suppression of food intake, following intravenous injections of BBS (10 micrograms/kg) or CCK8 (10 micrograms/kg), did not differ between SHAM and VAG birds. The different postoperative weight gains may have been a consequence of different weights of food digested, and the difference in interval length was probably due to the different rates of food passage. The results of these experiments indicate that efferent information affecting rate of passage and digestibility travels via the vagus, but that afferent information concerned with initiation and termination of meals, and with satiety effects of BBS and CCK8, does not. Instead, such afferent information may travel via the intestinal nerve, which is unique to birds.