start-ver=1.4 cd-journal=joma no-vol=166 cd-vols= no-issue=8 article-no= start-page=bqaf102 end-page= dt-received= dt-revised= dt-accepted= dt-pub-year=2025 dt-pub=20250605 dt-online= en-article= kn-article= en-subject= kn-subject= en-title= kn-title=Neuromedin U Deficiency Disrupts Daily Testosterone Fluctuation and Reduces Wheel-running Activity in Rats en-subtitle= kn-subtitle= en-abstract= kn-abstract=The objective of this study was to elucidate the role of endogenous Neuromedin U (NMU) in rats by performing NMU knockout (KO). Male, but not female NMU KO rats exhibited decreased wheel-running activity vs wildtype (WT), although overall home cage activity was not affected. Plasma testosterone in WT rats varied significantly over the course of a day, with a peak at ZT1 and a nadir at ZT18, whereas in NMU KO rats testosterone remained stable throughout the day. Chronic administration of testosterone restored wheel-running activity in NMU KO rats to the same level as in WT rats, suggesting that the decrease in wheel-running activity in NMU KO rats is due to the disruption of the diurnal change of testosterone. Accordingly, expression of the luteinizing hormone beta subunit (Lhb) mRNA in the pars distalis of anterior pituitary was significantly lower in NMU KO rats; immunostaining revealed that the size of luteinizing hormone (LH)–expressing cells was also relatively small in those animals. In the brain of male WT rats, Nmu was highly expressed in the pars tuberalis, and the NMU receptor Nmur2 was highly expressed in the ependymal cell layer of the third ventricle. This study reveals a novel function of NMU and indicates that endogenous NMU in rats plays a role in the regulation of motivated activity via regulation of testosterone. en-copyright= kn-copyright= en-aut-name=OtsukaMai en-aut-sei=Otsuka en-aut-mei=Mai kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=1 ORCID= en-aut-name=TakeuchiYu en-aut-sei=Takeuchi en-aut-mei=Yu kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=2 ORCID= en-aut-name=MoriyamaMaho en-aut-sei=Moriyama en-aut-mei=Maho kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=3 ORCID= en-aut-name=EgoshiSakura en-aut-sei=Egoshi en-aut-mei=Sakura kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=4 ORCID= en-aut-name=GotoYuki en-aut-sei=Goto en-aut-mei=Yuki kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=5 ORCID= en-aut-name=GuTingting en-aut-sei=Gu en-aut-mei=Tingting kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=6 ORCID= en-aut-name=KimuraAtsushi P en-aut-sei=Kimura en-aut-mei=Atsushi P kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=7 ORCID= en-aut-name=HaraguchiShogo en-aut-sei=Haraguchi en-aut-mei=Shogo kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=8 ORCID= en-aut-name=YoshiiTaishi en-aut-sei=Yoshii en-aut-mei=Taishi kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=9 ORCID= en-aut-name=TakeuchiSakae en-aut-sei=Takeuchi en-aut-mei=Sakae kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=10 ORCID= en-aut-name=MatsuyamaMakoto en-aut-sei=Matsuyama en-aut-mei=Makoto kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=11 ORCID= en-aut-name=BentleyGeorge E en-aut-sei=Bentley en-aut-mei=George E kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=12 ORCID= en-aut-name=AizawaSayaka en-aut-sei=Aizawa en-aut-mei=Sayaka kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=13 ORCID= affil-num=1 en-affil=Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University kn-affil= affil-num=2 en-affil=Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University kn-affil= affil-num=3 en-affil=Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University kn-affil= affil-num=4 en-affil=Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Okayama University kn-affil= affil-num=5 en-affil=Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University kn-affil= affil-num=6 en-affil=Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University kn-affil= affil-num=7 en-affil=Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University kn-affil= affil-num=8 en-affil=Department of Biochemistry, Showa University School of Medicine kn-affil= affil-num=9 en-affil=Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University kn-affil= affil-num=10 en-affil=Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University kn-affil= affil-num=11 en-affil=Division of Molecular Genetics, Shigei Medical Research Institute kn-affil= affil-num=12 en-affil=Department of Integrative Biology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California at Berkeley kn-affil= affil-num=13 en-affil=Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University kn-affil= en-keyword=Neuromedin U kn-keyword=Neuromedin U en-keyword=rat kn-keyword=rat en-keyword=motivation kn-keyword=motivation en-keyword=activity kn-keyword=activity en-keyword=testosterone kn-keyword=testosterone en-keyword=wheel-running kn-keyword=wheel-running END start-ver=1.4 cd-journal=joma no-vol=6 cd-vols= no-issue=10 article-no= start-page=1 end-page=8 dt-received= dt-revised= dt-accepted= dt-pub-year=2022 dt-pub=202285 dt-online= en-article= kn-article= en-subject= kn-subject= en-title= kn-title=Effects of Wnt-β-Catenin Signaling and Sclerostin on the Phenotypes of Rat Pheochromocytoma PC12 Cells en-subtitle= kn-subtitle= en-abstract= kn-abstract=Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) are classified into 3 major categories with distinct driver genes: pseudohypoxia, kinase signaling, and Wnt-altered subtypes. PPGLs in the Wnt-altered subtype are sporadic and tend to be aggressive with metastasis, where somatic gene fusions affecting mastermind-like 3 (MAML3) and somatic mutations in cold shock domain containing E1 (CSDE1) cause overactivation of Wnt-β-catenin signaling. However, the relation between Wnt-β-catenin signaling and the biological behavior of PPGLs remains unexplored. In rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells, Wnt3a treatment enhanced cell proliferation and suppressed mRNA expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme of catecholamine biosynthesis, and dopamine secretion. We identified the expression of sclerostin in PC12 cells, which is known as an osteocyte-derived negative regulator for Wnt signaling-driven bone formation. Inhibition of endogenous Wnt pathway by XAV939 or sclerostin resulted in attenuated cell proliferation and increased TH expression. Furthermore, Wnt3a pretreatment suppressed bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-induced Smad1/5/9 phosphorylation whereas BMPs enhanced sclerostin expression in PC12 cells. In the Wnt-altered subtype, the increased Wnt-β-catenin pathway may contribute the aggressive clinical behavior with reduced catecholamine production. Furthermore, upregulated expression of sclerostin by BMPs may explain the osteolytic metastatic lesions observed in metastatic PPGLs. en-copyright= kn-copyright= en-aut-name=MorimotoEisaku en-aut-sei=Morimoto en-aut-mei=Eisaku kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=1 ORCID= en-aut-name=InagakiKenichi en-aut-sei=Inagaki en-aut-mei=Kenichi kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=2 ORCID= en-aut-name=KomatsubaraMotoshi en-aut-sei=Komatsubara en-aut-mei=Motoshi kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=3 ORCID= en-aut-name=TerasakaTomohiro en-aut-sei=Terasaka en-aut-mei=Tomohiro kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=4 ORCID= en-aut-name=ItohYoshihiko en-aut-sei=Itoh en-aut-mei=Yoshihiko kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=5 ORCID= en-aut-name=FujisawaSatoshi en-aut-sei=Fujisawa en-aut-mei=Satoshi kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=6 ORCID= en-aut-name=SasakiErika en-aut-sei=Sasaki en-aut-mei=Erika kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=7 ORCID= en-aut-name=NishiyamaYuki en-aut-sei=Nishiyama en-aut-mei=Yuki kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=8 ORCID= en-aut-name=HaraTakayuki en-aut-sei=Hara en-aut-mei=Takayuki kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=9 ORCID= en-aut-name=WadaJun en-aut-sei=Wada en-aut-mei=Jun kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=10 ORCID= affil-num=1 en-affil=Department of Nephrology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences kn-affil= affil-num=2 en-affil=Department of Nephrology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences kn-affil= affil-num=3 en-affil=Department of Nephrology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences kn-affil= affil-num=4 en-affil=Department of Nephrology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences kn-affil= affil-num=5 en-affil=Department of Nephrology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences kn-affil= affil-num=6 en-affil=Department of Nephrology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences kn-affil= affil-num=7 en-affil=Department of Nephrology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences kn-affil= affil-num=8 en-affil=Department of Nephrology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences kn-affil= affil-num=9 en-affil=Department of Nephrology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences kn-affil= affil-num=10 en-affil=Department of Nephrology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences kn-affil= en-keyword=Wnt-β-catenin signaling kn-keyword=Wnt-β-catenin signaling en-keyword=sclerostin kn-keyword=sclerostin en-keyword=catecholamine kn-keyword=catecholamine en-keyword=PPGL kn-keyword=PPGL en-keyword=PC12 kn-keyword=PC12 END