MACRONUTRIENTS MODULATE GHRELIN AND NUCB2/NESFATIN-1 IN THE INTESTINE AND HEPATOPANCREAS OF GOLDFISH (CARASSIUS AURATUS) IN VITRO

BERTUCCI JI; BLANCO AM; UNNIAPPAN S; CANOSA LF

Buenos Aires

Jornada; XVIII Jornadas Anuales SAB; 2016

Sociedad Argentina de Biologia

Ghrelin and nesfatin-1 are two peptidic hormonesprimarily involved in food intake regulation and energy balance. In the presentwork, we aimed to characterize the effects of single nutrients on ghrelin andnesfatin-1 in the intestine and hepatopancreas of goldfish. First, theanatomical distribution of ghrelin and NUCB2/nesfatin-1 in goldfishhepatopancreas was studied by immunohistochemistry. Second, the effects of 2and 4 hours of exposure of cultured intestine and hepatopancreas sections toglucose, L-tryptophan, oleic acid, linolenic acid (LNA), eicosapentaenoic acid(EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on ghrelin and nesfatin-1 gene and proteinexpression were studied. Results showed the presence and co-localization ofghrelin and NUCB2/nesfatin-1 in the cytoplasm of goldfish hepatopancreatic cells.Exposure to glucose led to an upregulation of preproghrelin and adownregulation of nucb2/nesfatin-1 in intestine. L-tryptophan mainlydecreased the expression of both peptides in intestine and hepatopancreas,except for the highest dose which resulted in a significant increase inNUCB2/nesfatin-1 (gene and protein) expression at 4 hours. All fatty acids ingeneral downregulated NUCB2/nesfatin-1 in intestine, but only the longerand highly unsaturated fatty acids were able to produce this inhibition in thecase of preproghrelin. EPA exposure led to decrease in preproghrelin,and an increase in nucb2/nesfatin-1 expression in hepatopancreas after 2hours, but the opposite effects were found after 4 hours. This study suggeststhat macronutrients could not only be involved in the regulation of foodintake, but also may play a role in the digestive process and nutrientmetabolism through the regulation of ghrelin and nesfatin-1.