Effect of melanocortinergic inhibition on TNFα-induced BP rise in obesity. Male C57BL/6 mice after 3-month HFD vs CD feeding received the same surgical procedure as described in Figs. 1–3. After surgery and recovery, mice received an intra–third-ventricle injection of SHU9119 vs vehicle 30 minutes prior to TNFα injection. Curves present the minute-by-minute average levels of (a, f) systolic, (b, g) diastolic, and (c, h) mean BP and (d, i) heart rate in (a–d) CD-fed vs (f–i) HFD-fed mice over a 4-hour postinjection period. Bars show the average levels of BP and heart rate in (e) CD-fed vs (j) HFD-fed mice during the 50 to 100 minutes postinjection outlined by a dotted line. Error bars reflect mean ± standard error of the mean. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01; n = 5 mice per group. aCSF, artificial cerebrospinal fluid; bpm, beats per minute; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; HR, heart rate; Inj & Rec, injection and recovery; MBP, mean blood pressure; n.s., nonsignificant; SBP, systolic blood pressure; SHU, SHU9119; TNF, TNFα.