Sex Differences in Neuropeptide Y Serum, But Not in Fat Intake and Body Mass Index

Background:  One’s appetite has a role in controlling food intake and maintaining energy balance, but its effect on body metabolism related to obesity is still questionable. The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of neuropeptide Y in healthy people and to see differences in gender and anthropometric parameters. The hypothesis of this study was that there would be differences in neuropeptide Y levels in groups with gender and anthropometric parameter differences.      Methods:   This study was a cross-sectional study involving 62 study subjects, male and female, who did not have chronic diseases or metabolic disorders. This research was conducted from April to September 2020. The parameters examined in this study were neuropeptide Y levels and anthropometric parameters. The statistical analysis performed was the Mann–Whitney test to see the differences between groups.  Results:   The mean age of the research subjects was 40.48 ± 10.85 years, with the same ethnic distribution. The distribution of men and women was more women than men. Based on anthropometric examination, it was found that obesity nutritional status was more common in the female group than in the male group; however, serum neuropeptide Y levels were found to be significantly different between male and female groups (male group was higher) which were mean±standard deviation: 348.37±330.09 ng/L, p=0.036.  Conclusions: The study found significant differences in serum neuropeptide Y levels in male and female groups, with neuropeptide Y levels being higher in men than in women. 

Gene expression profiles of bovine caruncular and intercaruncular endometrium at implantation

At implantation the endometrium undergoes modifications necessary for its physical interactions with the trophoblast as well as the development of the conceptus. We aim to identify endometrial factors and pathways essential for a successful implantation in the caruncular (C) and the intercaruncular (IC) areas in cattle. Using a 13,257-element bovine oligonucleotide array, we established expression profiles at day 20 of the estrous cycle or pregnancy (implantation), revealing 446 and 1,295 differentially expressed genes (DEG) in C and IC areas, respectively (false discovery rate = 0.08). The impact of the conceptus was higher on the immune response function in C but more prominent on the regulation of metabolism function in IC. The C vs. IC direct comparison revealed 1,177 and 453 DEG in cyclic and pregnant animals respectively (false discovery rate = 0.05), with a major impact of the conceptus on metabolism and cell adhesion. We selected 15 genes including C11ORF34, CXCL12, CXCR4, PLAC8, SCARA5, and NPY and confirmed their differential expression by quantitative RT-PCR. The cellular localization was analyzed by in situ hybridization and, upon pregnancy, showed gene-specific patterns of cell distribution, including a high level of expression in the luminal epithelium for C11ORF34 and MX1. Using primary cultures of bovine endometrial cells, we identified PTN, PLAC8, and CXCL12 as interferon-tau (IFNT) target genes and MSX1 and CXCR7 as IFNT-regulated genes, whereas C11ORF34 was not an IFNT-regulated gene. Our transcriptomic data provide novel molecular insights accounting for the biological functions related to the C or IC endometrial areas and may contribute to the identification of potential biomarkers for normal and perturbed early pregnancy.