Hormonal Modulation of Food Intake in Response to Low Leptin Levels Induced by Hypergravity

A loss in fat mass is a common response to centrifugation and it results in low circulating leptin concentrations. However, rats adapted to hypergravity are euphagic. The focus of this study was to examine leptin and other peripheral signals of energy balance in the presence of a hypergravity-induced loss of fat mass and euphagia. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were centrifuged for 14 days at gravity levels of 1.25, 1.5, or 2 G, or they remained stationary at 1 G. Urinary catecholamines, urinary corticosterone, food intake, and body mass were measured on Days 11 to 14. Plasma hormones and epididymal fat pad mass were measured on Day 14. Mean body mass of the 1.25, 1.5, and 2 G groups were significantly (P < 0.05) lower than controls, and no differences were found in food intake (g/day/100 g body mass) between the hypergravity groups and controls. Epididymal fat mass was 14%, 14%, and 21% lower than controls in the 1.25, 1.5, and 2.0 G groups, respectively. Plasma leptin was significantly reduced from controls by 46%, 45%, and 65% in the 1.25, 1.5, and 2 G groups, respectively. Plasma insulin was significantly lower in the 1.25, 1.5, and 2.0 G groups than controls by 35%, 38%, and 33%. No differences were found between controls and hypergravity groups in urinary corticosterone. Mean urinary epinephrine was significantly higher in the 1.5 and 2.0 G groups than in controls. Mean urinary norepinephrine was significantly higher in the 1.25, 1.5 and 2.0 G groups than in controls. Significant correlations were found between G load and body mass, fat mass, leptin, urinary epinephrine, and norepinephrine. During hypergravity exposure, maintenance of food intake is the result of a complex relationship between multiple pathways, which abates the importance of leptin as a primary signal.