Circadian anorectic effects of peripherally administered amylin in rats.

The pancreatic peptide amylin (1 microgram/kg) injected intraperitoneally reduced cumulative food intake for up to 4 h in food-deprived (24 h) and non-deprived rats at various times of the day, i.e., at dark onset, in the middle of the dark phase, and at light onset. At none of these times did subdiaphragmatic vagotomy abolish the anorectic effect of amylin. Rather, vagotomy enhanced, by unknown mechanisms, amylin's anorectic effect in food-deprived rats at light onset and in the middle of the dark phase. In contrast to previous studies with older rats, amylin's anorectic effect was also observed when injected into nondeprived rats. The findings of the present study extend previous reports in that amylin's anorectic effect, not being abolished by abdominal vagotomy after intraperitoneal injection, can be elicited at different times of the day.