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Dr Perry Barrett

Research Interests

Current research focuses on a physiological model of body weight regulation, the Siberian hamster. This animal very precisely regulates body weight by using the prevailing light period of the season of the year, having a higher body weight during spring and summer months and decreases body weight during autumn and winter. The change in body weight is almost entirely due to the accumulation or loss of fat. How does the hamster control the amount of fat it accumulates or loses? What lessons can we learn and apply to the human situation?

So far we have discovered a new region in the brain (which we have tentatively called the dmpARC) close to a site involved in signalling hunger or satiety (the arcuate nucleus), which responds to seasonal changes in photoperiod. We have seen major changes in gene expression in this brain region for genes encoding the histamine H3 receptor, VGF (a secreted protein) and others. The involvement of the histamine H3 receptor in seasonal body weight regulation is the subject of a collaborative study with researchers at the University of Nottingham. So is the dmpARC the site in the brain where seasonal regulation of body weight is determined? If so what components in the controlling neurons are the key ones and how are these regulated? These are questions that are being addressed through techniques such as laser capture microdissection, in situ hybridization and techniques to investigate gene function.

Highlighted Publications

Johnston JD, Klosen P, Barrett P, Hazlerigg DG. Regulation of MT melatonin receptor expression in the foetal rat pituitary. J Neuroendocrinol. 2006 Jan;18(1):50-6.

Schuster C, Williams LM, Morris A, Morgan PJ, Barrett P. The human MT1 melatonin receptor stimulates cAMP production in the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y cells via a calcium-calmodulin signal
transduction pathway. J Neuroendocrinol. 2005 Mar;17(3):170-8.

Graham ES, Littlewood P, Turnbull Y, Mercer JG, Morgan PJ, Barrett P. Neuromedin-U is regulated by the circadian clock in the SCN of the mouse. Eur J Neurosci. 2005 Feb;21(3):814-9.

Ross AW, Bell LM, Littlewood PA, Mercer JG, Barrett P, Morgan PJ.
Temporal changes in gene expression in the arcuate nucleus precede seasonal responses in adiposity and reproduction. Endocrinology. 2005 Apr;146(4):1940-7. Epub 2005 Jan 6.

Barrett P, Ross AW, Balik A, Littlewood PA, Mercer JG, Moar KM, Sallmen T, Kaslin J, Panula P, Schuhler S, Ebling FJ, Ubeaud C, Morgan PJ. Photoperiodic regulation of histamine H3 receptor and VGF messenger ribonucleic acid in the arcuate nucleus of the Siberian hamster.Endocrinology. 2005 Apr;146(4):1930-9. Epub 2004 Dec 23.