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Date publication

février 2026

Journal

European journal of pharmacology

Auteurs

Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Dr HICHAMI Aziz


Tous les auteurs :
Benbaibeche H, Bounihi A, Saidi H, Sayed-Khan A, Bouazza A, Hichami A, Koceir EA, Khan NA

Résumé

Psammomys obesus, widely known as sand rat, develops obesity during captivity. To assess the role of confinement stress on metabolic alterations and sweet taste perception, the gustatory cue involved in obesity, we administered corticosterone (CORT) intraperitoneally in male Psammomys obesus to yield a stressful condition. CORT administration was found to increase preference for sweet solutions in a two bottle-choice paradigm in these animals. Moreover, CORT administration increased the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression of sweet test receptor in fungiform taste bud cells. As regards liver, CORT increased mRNA expression encoding glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-P), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 (PEPCK1) and stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1). Interestingly, CORT decreased gut peptide YY (PYY), insulin, and triglyceride levels in the blood. Our study demonstrates that corticosterone, known to be released during the captivity period, might play a key role in the development of obesity by influencing sweet taste perception, release of a gut peptide and modifications in lipid/glucidic metabolic enzymatic pathways in Psammomys obesus.

Mots clés

Corticosterone, Obesity, Stress, Sucrose, Sweet taste receptors

Référence

Eur J Pharmacol. 2026 02 26;:178688