New Paper: Effects of the Central Melanocortin System on Feed intake, Metabolic Hormones and Insulin Action in the Sheep

In November 2023, Dr. Stan Hileman and colleagues published the article Effects of the Central Melanocortin System on Feed intake, Metabolic Hormones and Insulin Action in the Sheep in Journal of Animal Science. 

Authors: Richard A Ehrhardt, Sarah L Giesy, Stanley M Hileman, Karen L Houseknecht, and Yves R Boisclair

Summary: Highly productive ruminants face short-term nutritional deficits during demanding phases of their life cycle. They remain productive and healthy during these periods through a series of metabolic adaptations. Current models in ruminant biology attribute the coordination of these adaptations to circulating hormones and bioactive metabolites but have not considered the possibility that the central nervous system (CNS) is also involved. The latter appears likely given recent work in rodents implicating the CNS-melanocortin system in the regulation of some of these adaptations. To test this possibility, mature ewes were surgically implanted with a cannula accessing the brain allowing chronic infusion of melanocortins, and used in experiments assessing peripheral effects. These experiments showed that the CNS-melanocortin system regulates the circulating concentrations of some metabolic hormones as well as the ability of insulin to regulate glucose production. Overall, these studies suggest a role for the CNS-melanocortin system in regulating metabolic adaptations in ruminants.

Link: https://academic.oup.com/jas/article/doi/10.1093/jas/skad282/7251240

Citation: Effects of the central melanocortin system on feed intake, metabolic hormones and insulin action in the sheep. Richard A Ehrhardt, Sarah L Giesy, Stanley M Hileman, Karen L Houseknecht and Yves R Boisclair. Journal of Animal Science, Volume 101, 2023, skad398, https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skad398