Rats hypothalamus during heat acclimation without and together with superimposed hypohydration

We studied the global genomic response in the hypothalamus during heat acclimation, with and without combined hypohydration stress. Rats were acclimated for 2 days or for 30 days at 34°C. Hypohydration (10% decrease in body weight) was attained by water deprivation. Functional analyses demonstrated a bi-phasic acclimatory profile with a transient upregulation of genes encoding ion channels, transporters, and transmitter signaling upon 2 days acclimation, suggesting enhanced neuronal excitability at that acclimation phase. Following long acclimation most genes returned to their pre-acclimation expression levels. In both acclimation phases, genes encoding hormones and neuropeptides, linked with metabolic rate and food intake, were downregulated. The response to hypohydration was characterized by an upregulation of a large number of genes primarily associated with the regulation of ion channels and cell-volume and neuronal excitability. During 2 days acclimation, the response was transiently desensitized, recovering upon LTHA. The results suggest that hypohydration overrides the heat acclimatory status. Keywords: other We analyzed 9 arrays for euhydrated and 9 arrays for hypohydrated rats.