Food restriction-like effects of dietary dehydroepiandrosterone. Hypothalamic neurotransmitters and metabolites in male C57BL/6 and (C57BL/6 x DBA/2)F1 mice

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a precursor of sex hormones in mammals. Dietary DHEA serves to prevent or inhibit various diseases and also lengthens life spans of animals. Moreover, dietary DHEA inhibits food intake in certain strains of mice. We administered DHEA (0.45% w/w of food) to C57BL/6 (B6) and (B6 x DBA/2)F1 (BDF1) mice for 5 weeks. Food intake was inhibited in both strains of mice during the first week. Thereafter, B6, but not BDF1, mice consumed less food. Because hypothalamic serotonin and/or dopamine regulate appetite, satiety and other behaviors, the hypothesis tested was that hypothalamic concentration of serotonin, dopamine and/or their metabolites are affected differentially in B6 and BDF1 mice fed DHEA. In another study, mice were fed the AIN-76A diet with or without DHEA for 1 and 7 days or were pair-fed to DHEA-fed mice for 7 days. On Day 1 of DHEA feeding (acute effects) hypothalamic levels of serotonin, dopamine, and metabolites were unchanged in B6 mice, but levels of dopamine were increased and levels of dopamine metabolites were decreased in BDF1 mice. On Day 7 of DHEA feeding, levels of serotonin were increased in BDF1 but not B6 mice. On Day 7 of pair-feeding there were decreased levels of hypothalamic dopamine metabolites in BDF1 but not B6 mice. Paraventricular nuclei of BDF1 mice had decreased levels of serotonin but not of dopamine in all groups. Serum levels of DHEA and its metabolite, 6-androstene-3 beta ,17 beta -diol, correlated significantly only with serotonin concentrations in BDF1 mice. The salient findings of these experiments are that DHEA inhibits food intake to a greater extent in B6 than in BDF1 mice. However, alterations of hypothalamic neurotransmitters were greater in BDF1 than in B6 mice. Because BDF1 and B6 mice share B6 genes, relevant gene(s) derived from DBA/2 mice might mediate the different responses detected.