Submit a Letter to the Editor for:
Alan S. Kopin, Wendy Foulds Mathes, Edward W. McBride, Minh Nguyen, Wisam Al-Haider, Frank Schmitz, Susan Bonner-Weir, Robin Kanarek, Martin Beinborn
J Clin Invest. 1999;
103(3):383
doi:10.1172/JCI4901
Abstract |
Full text
|
PDF

F
ood intake and body weight are determined by a complex interaction of regulatory pathways. To elucidate the contribution of the endogenous peptide cholecystokinin, mice lacking functional cholecystokinin-A receptors were generated by targeted gene disruption. To explore the role of the cholecystokinin-A receptor in mediating satiety, food intake of cholecystokinin-A receptor–/– mice was compared with the corresponding intakes of wild-type animals and mice lacking the other known cholecystokinin receptor subtype, cholecystokinin-B/gastrin. Intraperitoneal administration of cholecystokinin failed to decrease food intake in mice lacking cholecystokinin-A receptors. In contrast, cholecystokinin diminished food intake by up to 90% in wild-type and cholecystokinin-B/gastrin receptor–/– mice. Together, these findings indicate that cholecystokinin-induced inhibition of food intake is mediated by the cholecystokinin-A receptor. To explore the long-term consequences of either cholecystokinin-A or cholecystokinin-B/gastrin receptor absence, body weight as a function of age was compared between freely fed wild-type and mutant animals. Both cholecystokinin-A and cholecystokinin-B/gastrin receptor–/– mice maintained normal body weight well into adult life. In addition, each of the two receptor–/– strains had normal pancreatic morphology and were normoglycemic. Our results suggest that although cholecystokinin plays a role in the short-term inhibition of food intake, this pathway is not essential for the long-term maintenance of body weight.
Guidelines:
The Editorial Board will only consider letters that we deem relevant and of interest to our readers. We will not post data that have not been subjected to peer review, nor will we post letters that are essentially a reiteration of another letter. All accepted letters will be posted on our website within one week of acceptance. The Editors reserve the right to edit any letter for length, content, and clarity. Authors of all accepted letters will be asked to preview any changes. Authors will be notified by e-mail if their letters were not accepted. As this is a final decision, no appeals will be considered.
Specific requirements: All letters must be 400 words or fewer. You may enter the letter as plain text or HTML, if you wish. The author's name and e-mail address are required, and will be posted with the letter. All possible conflicts of interest must be noted, even if they are not posted. If you wish to include a figure (keep in mind that non-peer-reviewed data will not be posted), please contact the editor directly at editors@the-jci.org.