Physiol. Genomics 35: 341-350, 2008.
First published September 23, 2008; doi:10.1152/physiolgenomics.90255.2008
1094-8341/08 $8.00
Received 20 May 2008;
accepted in final form 18 September 2008.
Physiological Genomics 35:341-350 (2008)
1094-8341/08 $8.00 © 2008 American Physiological Society
Hypothalamus transcriptome profile suggests an anorexia-cachexia syndrome in the anx/anx mouse model
Josep Maria Mercader
1,2,
Juan José Lozano
3,4,
Lauro Sumoy
3,
Mara Dierssen
1,5,
Joana Visa
6,
Mònica Gratacòs
1,2 and
Xavier Estivill
1,2,7
1 Genes and Disease Program, Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG-UPF), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
2 CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
3 Bioinformatics and Genomics Program, CRG-UPF, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
4 CIBER de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
5 CIBER de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
6 Servei Estabulari, IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
7 Experimental and Health Sciences Department, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
The anx/anx mouse displays poor appetite and lean appearance and is considered a good model for the study of anorexia nervosa. To identify new genes involved in feeding behavior and body weight regulation we performed an expression profiling in the hypothalamus of the anx/anx mice. Using commercial microarrays we detected 156 differentially expressed genes and validated 92 of those using TaqMan low-density arrays. The expression of a set of 87 candidate genes selected based on literature evidences was also quantified by TaqMan low-density arrays. Our results showed enrichment in deregulated genes involved in cell death, cell morphology, and cancer, as well as an alteration of several signaling circuits involved in energy balance including neuropeptide Y and melanocortin signaling. The expression profile along with the phenotype led us to conclude that anx/anx mice resemble the anorexia-cachexia syndrome typically observed in cancer, infection with human immunodeficiency virus or chronic diseases, rather than starvation, and that anx/anx mice could be considered a good model for the treatment and investigation of this condition.
feeding regulation; chronic disorders; gene expression; TaqMan low-density arrays; microarrays
Copyright © 2008 by the American Physiological Society.