Comparing The Melanin-concentrating Hormone -1 Receptor Expression In The Brains Of Mice And Rats

Abstract

The melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) family of neuropeptides is believed to be important in controlling certain feeding behaviors. Recently, the distribution of melanin-concentrating-1 receptor (MCH-1R) in rat brains was published revealing that it is expressed throughout the rat brain. Mice lacking MCH and MCH-1R have been generated and have been found to be leaner and hyperactive. Consequently, MCH-1R has become a possible site for pharmacologically controlling obesity. However, areas expressing MCH-1R in the mouse brain still remain unknown. Therefore, in situ hybridization was performed on both mouse and rat brains to compare the MCH-1R expression between these animals. This comparison study revealed that most of the positive nuclei were represented in both rodents and these areas displayed similar expression intensities. However, a subset of nuclei was found to display MCH-1R expression differently. These expression differences reside in brain areas that could possibly explain dissimilarities in feeding behaviors between mice and rats.