Lactation overnutrition-induced obesity impairs effects of exogenous corticosterone on energy homeostasis and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in male rats

Schematic diagram demonstrating that 1) corticosterone treatment in rats from normal litters (NL) caused metabolic changes (higher body weight, food intake, increased plasma levels of total and LDL cholesterol, and glucose intolerance) and adrenal gland atrophy, as observed by reduced thickness of adrenal cortex and corticosterone plasma levels, which induced higher expression of corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) in the paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus (PVN) and proopiomelanocortin (POMC) in the pituitary, due to the lack of negative feedback of glucocorticoids; 2) Male rats raised in small litters (SL) exhibited metabolic changes (glucose intolerance, adiposity, and dyslipidemia) and hyperactivity of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (higher expression of CRH in the PVN, POMC in the pituitary and corticosterone plasma levels, associated with lower expression of MR in the PVN); 3) Obesity induced by litter size reduction impaired glucocorticoids effects on energy balance and HPA axis.Unlabelled Image