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BDNF and its high affinity receptor TrkB play a critical role in the synaptic activity and plasticity of mature neurons and enhance adult neurogenesis. Furthermore, treatment with BDNF was found to attenuate weight gain or even cause weight loss and suppress appetite in rats. The aim of this study was to look at the effect of nutrient intake on BDNF concentrations and cellular proliferation in the brain. Adult male Wistar rats were given one of three diets for 6 weeks: high-carbohydrate, high-fat and high-fat pair fed. Rats were sacrificed at the end of the feeding period and BDNF concentrations in the dorsal vagal complex (DVC), hypothalamus and plasma were measured by ELISA on protein extracts of these samples. The cellular proliferation in the DVC was quantified by Ki-67 immunohistochemistry. Neither BDNF levels nor proliferation were modified by the diet. Secondly, using rats that received the same diets, real time PCR was performed in the DVC, hypothalamus and nodose ganglia in order to compare TrkB receptor levels after fasting or refeeding the animals. Results showed significantly lower TrkB levels in the hypothalamus and nodose ganglia of fasted rats given the high-fat diet compared to the other dietary groups. These two complementary methodological approaches suggest that there might be a relationship between long-term dietary intake and BDNF but further investigations are needed.

High-protein diets are known to reduce adiposity in the context of high carbohydrate and Western diets. However, few studies have investigated the specific high-protein effect on lipogenesis induced by a high-sucrose (HS) diet or fat deposition induced by high-fat feeding. We aimed to determine the effects of high protein intake on the development of fat deposition and partitioning in response to high-fat and/or HS feeding. A total of thirty adult male Wistar rats were assigned to one of the six dietary regimens with low and high protein, sucrose and fat contents for 5 weeks. Body weight (BW) and food intake were measured weekly. Oral glucose tolerance tests and meal tolerance tests were performed after 4th and 5th weeks of the regimen, respectively. At the end of the study, the rats were killed 2 h after ingestion of a calibrated meal. Blood, tissues and organs were collected for analysis of circulating metabolites and hormones, body composition and mRNA expression in the liver and adipose tissues. No changes were observed in cumulative energy intake and BW gain after 5 weeks of dietary treatment. However, high-protein diets reduced by 20 % the adiposity gain induced by HS and high-sucrose high-fat (HS-HF) diets. Gene expression and transcriptomic analysis suggested that high protein intake reduced liver capacity for lipogenesis by reducing mRNA expressions of fatty acid synthase (fasn), acetyl-CoA carboxylase a and b (Acaca and Acacb) and sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 1c (Srebf-1c). Moreover, ketogenesis, as indicated by plasma β-hydroxybutyrate levels, was higher in HS-HF-fed mice that were also fed high protein levels. Taken together, these results suggest that high-protein diets may reduce adiposity by inhibiting lipogenesis and stimulating ketogenesis in the liver.

Stress is known to lead to metabolic and behavioral changes. To study the possible relationships between stress and dietary intake, male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed one of three diets for 6 weeks: high carbohydrate (HC), high fat (HF), or “Cafeteria” (CAF) (Standard HC plus a choice of highly palatable cafeteria foods: chocolate, biscuits, and peanut butter). After the first 3 weeks, half of the animals from each group (experimental groups) were stressed daily using a chronic variable stress (CVS) paradigm, while the other half of the animals (control groups) were kept undisturbed. Rats were sacrificed at the end of the 6-week period. The effects of stress and dietary intake on animal adiposity, serum lipids, and corticosterone were analyzed. Results showed that both chronic stress and CAF diet resulted in elevated total cholesterol, increased low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL). In addition, increases in body weight, food intake, and intra-abdominal fat were observed in the CAF group compared with the other dietary groups. In addition, there was a significant interaction between stress and diet on serum corticosterone levels, which manifest as an increase in corticosterone levels in stressed rats relative to non-stressed controls in the HC and HF groups but not in the CAF group. These results show that a highly palatable diet, offering a choice of food items, is associated with a reduction in the response to CVS and could validate a stressor-induced preference for comfort food that in turn could increase body weight.

Exposure to an enriched environment (EE) or the intake of a highly palatable diet may reduce the response to chronic stress in rodents. To further explore the relationships between EE, dietary intake and stress, male Sprague–Dawley rats were fed one of two diets for 5 weeks: high carbohydrate (HC) or “cafeteria” (CAF) (Standard HC plus a choice of highly palatable cafeteria foods: chocolate, biscuits, and peanut butter). In addition, they were either housed in empty cages or cages with EE. After the first two weeks, half of the animals from each group were stressed daily using a chronic variable stress (CVS) paradigm, while the other half were kept undisturbed. Rats were sacrificed at the end of the 5-week period. The effects of stress, enrichment and dietary intake on animal adiposity, serum lipids, and stress hormones were analyzed. Results showed an increase in intra-abdominal fat associated with the CAF diet and an increase in body weight gain associated with both the CAF diet and EE. Furthermore, the increase in ACTH associated with CVS was attenuated in the presence of EE and the CAF diet independently while the stress-induced increase in corticosterone was reduced by the combination of EE and CAF feeding. The present study provides evidence that the availability of a positive environment combined to a highly palatable diet increases resilience to the effects of CVS in rats. These results highlight the important place of palatable food and supportive environments in reducing central stress responses.