Central administration of adrenomedullin (AM), a 52–amino acid peptide, is associated with anorexigenic effects in some species, including rodents and chickens. However, the associated hypothalamic mechanisms remain unclear and it is unknown if this peptide exerts satiety-inducing effects in other avian species. The objective of this study was thus to investigate AM-induced anorexigenic effects in 7-day-old Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). After intracerebroventricular injection of 0.3, 1.0, or 3.0 nmol of AM, quail injected with 3.0 nmol of AM ate and drank less than vehicle-injected quail at 180 min after injection. Except for the 1.0 nmol dose of AM exerting an anorexigenic effect at 90 min after injection, no other inhibitory effects on food or water intake were observed. At 60 min after injection, the AM-injected quail had more c-Fos immunoreactive cells in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) than vehicle-injected birds. In the ARC, AM injection was associated with increased proopiomelanocortin (POMC) and cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) mRNAs. In conclusion, the results suggest that the anorexigenic effect of AM is possibly influenced by the synergistic effect of POMC and CART in the ARC.

肾上腺髓质素 (AM)（一种 52 个氨基酸的肽）的中枢给药与某些物种的厌食效应有关，包括啮齿动物和鸡。然而，相关的下丘脑机制仍不清楚，并且不知道该肽是否在其他鸟类物种中发挥饱腹感作用。因此，本研究的目的是研究 AM 诱导 7 日龄日本鹌鹑（Coturnix japonica）。脑室内注射 0.3、1.0 或 3.0 nmol AM 后，注射 3.0 nmol AM 的鹌鹑在注射后 180 分钟吃和喝的量少于载体注射的鹌鹑。除了 1.0 nmol 剂量的 AM 在注射后 90 分钟产生食欲减退作用外，未观察到其他对食物或水摄入的抑制作用。注射后 60 分钟，注射 AM 的鹌鹑在弓状核 (ARC) 中比注射载体的鸟类具有更多的 c-Fos 免疫反应细胞。在 ARC 中，AM 注射与阿黑皮素原 (POMC) 和可卡因和苯丙胺调节的转录本 (CART) mRNA 增加有关。总之，结果表明 AM 的厌食作用可能受 POMC 和 CART 在 ARC 中的协同作用的影响。