Presence and distribution of leptin and its receptor in the gut of adult zebrafish in response to feeding and fasting |
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| Authors: | Olivia Garcia‐Suarez Roberto Cabo Francesco Abbate Basilio Randazzo Rosaria Laurà Giuseppe Piccione Antonino Germanà Maria Levanti |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Departamento de Morfología y Biología Celular, Grupo SINPOS, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain;2. Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab, Università di Messina, Polo Universitario dell'Annunziata, Messina, Italy;3. Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell'Ambiente, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy |
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| Abstract: | Leptin is an anorectic hormone secreted mainly by peripheral adipocytes but also by other central and peripheral tissues. It acts by means of a receptor called OB‐R, influencing not only appetite and body mass but being also involved in many fields like endocrinology, metabolism and reproduction. Immunohistochemistry and qRT‐PCR techniques were, respectively, used to demonstrate the presence of leptin and its receptor in the gut of adult zebrafish and to evaluate the leptin gene expression response to feeding and fasting. Immunoreactivity for the antibodies utilized was demonstrated in feeding but not in fasting fish, and the gene expression analysis corroborates the data obtained by immunohistochemistry. Therefore, all the obtained results support the hypothesis of the role of this hormone in food regulation in zebrafish. |
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| Keywords: | gut leptin zebrafish |
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