AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 267, Issue 1 44-R52, Copyright © 1994 by American Physiological Society
Ingestive patterns of liver-denervated rats presented with several diets
L. L. Bellinger, G. Dula and F. E. Williams
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Baylor College of Dentistry, Dallas, Texas 75246.
The liver by way of afferent nerves is suggested to be a controller of food
intake. In experiment 1, male rats were given a 15% fructose solution
during the first 4 h of the dark phase, while chow was available the rest
of the time, for 10 days, before total liver denervation (TLD) or sham
operation. Postsurgery ingestion patterns (15-min measurements for 4 h) of
fructose were similar in the two groups. However, chow intake in the TLD
group was slightly attenuated the first 2 days after surgery. In experiment
2, rats were given chow in cups and vegetable oil in bottles for 8 days
before TLD or sham operation. After surgery, hourly ingestion of chow and
oil did not differ between the groups; however, there was a trend for the
TLD group to take more oil in the dark phase on the first-day diet
exposure. In experiment 3, rats were fed a high-protein diet for 21 days
before TLD or sham operation. With the use of a computer-operated system,
postsurgery meal size, meal duration, and frequency patterns were found to
be comparable between the groups. In experiment 4, rats were given a diet
of sweetened condensed milk mixed with water (3:1 vol/vol) and vitamins for
14 days before hepatic vagal branch transection (HVBX) or sham operation.
After surgery the first-day milk intake of both groups was similar up to
3.5 h and then depressed at 4 and 24 h in the HVBX rats, but was again
comparable over the next 13 days; body weights were similar throughout the
study.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
