Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Akira Takamata, Yuri Nishimura, Ayano Oka, Mayuna Nagata, Natsumi Kosugi, Sayaka Eguchi, Hiroko Negishi, Keiko Morimoto
Summary: This study aims to investigate the role of endogenous androgens in the feeding regulation induced by reduced glucose availability. The results suggest that androgens can decrease food intake induced by glucose deprivation and achieve it by attenuating the activity of orexin A neurons in the lateral hypothalamic/perifornical area and neurons in the arcuate nucleus.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shi-Bin Li, Valentina Martinez Damonte, Chong Chen, Gordon X. Wang, Justus M. Kebschull, Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Wen-Jie Bian, Carolin Purmann, Reenal Pattni, Alexander Eckehart Urban, Philippe Mourrain, Julie A. Kauer, Gregory Scherrer, Luis de Lecea
Summary: Sleep quality declines with age and this study identified hyperexcitable hypocretin/orexin (Hcrt/OX) neurons as drivers of sleep fragmentation during aging. Activation of Hcrt neurons increased wakefulness and aged Hcrt neurons showed hyperexcitability and impaired M-current. Disruption of Kcnq2/3 genes in young mice led to sleep destabilization resembling aging-associated sleep fragmentation.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Masatomo Ishioh, Tsukasa Nozu, Saori Miyagishi, Sho Igarashi, Takuya Funayama, Masumi Ohhira, Toshikatsu Okumura
Summary: Intestinal barrier dysfunction, known as leaky gut, is associated with various diseases such as dementia and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This study revealed that basal forebrain cholinergic neurons (BFCNs) improve leaky gut through adenosine A2B signaling and the vagal pathway. Additionally, BFCNs mediate the improvement of intestinal barrier function induced by orexin or butyrate.
BIOCHEMICAL PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Huan Sheng, Chao Lei, Yu Yuan, Yali Fu, Dongyang Cui, Li Yang, Da Shao, Zixuan Cao, Hao Yang, Xinli Guo, Chenshan Chu, Yaxian Wen, Zhangyin Cai, Ming Chen, Bin Lai, Ping Zheng
Summary: The lateral hypothalamus (LH) is implicated in drug addiction, specifically in the context-induced expression of morphine withdrawal memory. This study demonstrates that LH glutamatergic neurons are activated by neural circuits from the nucleus accumbens core (NAcC) through dopamine D1 receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons (D1-MSNs). The disinhibited LH glutamatergic neurons contribute to context-induced expression of morphine withdrawal memory.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Zhenquan He, Xiao Wang, Kang Ma, Leyi Zheng, Yan Zhang, Chunhong Liu, Tao Sun, Peng Wang, Weifang Rong, Jianguo Niu
Summary: The study found that epileptic rats exhibited prolonged wake phase and decreased NREM and REM phase after seizures. Neural tracing revealed close contact between seizure-activated ORX neurons and axon terminals from neurons in the medial amygdala, providing insight into the neural pathways underlying the disturbance of sleep-wakefulness in temporal lobe epilepsy.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Vasilina Ignatiuk, Marina Izvolskaia, Viktoria Sharova, Liudmila Zakharova
Summary: The neuroendocrine system's development, including the HPG axis, is sensitive to environmental impacts during critical developmental periods. Maternal immune system activation by bacterial or viral infection may negatively affect this development. This study investigated the effect of systemic inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharides (LPS E. coli) on the HPG axis development in male rat offspring and found that exposure to LPS on the 12th embryonic day led to disruptions in neural connections and reduced hormone and sex steroid levels in adult male offspring. Blocking IL-6 with antibodies alleviated the negative effects. These findings confirm the role of inflammation and IL-6 in fetal HPG development.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nilufer Sayar-Atasoy, Connor Laule, Iltan Aklan, Hyojin Kim, Yavuz Yavuz, Tayfun Ates, Ilknur Coban, Fulya Koksalar-Alkan, Jacob Rysted, Debbie Davis, Uday Singh, Muhammed Ikbal Alp, Bayram Yilmaz, Huxing Cui, Deniz Atasoy
Summary: This study investigates the role of norepinephrine in appetite regulation and identifies a novel ascending noradrenergic circuit that conveys hunger signals to the melanocortin pathway. The researchers found that norepinephrine levels in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVN) increase with energy deficit signals and decrease with food access. They also discovered that the innervating catecholaminergic axon terminals from NTSTH-neurons target PVNMC4R-neurons and regulate appetite. These findings provide new insights into the mechanisms of appetite regulation.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Longlong Tu, Jonathan C. Bean, Yang He, Hailan Liu, Meng Yu, Hesong Liu, Nan Zhang, Na Yin, Junying Han, Nikolas A. Scarcelli, Kristine M. Conde, Mengjie Wang, Yongxiang Li, Bing Feng, Peiyu Gao, Zhao-Lin Cai, Makoto Fukuda, Mingshan Xue, Qingchun Tong, Yongjie Yang, Lan Liao, Jianming Xu, Chunmei Wang, Yanlin He, Yong Xu
Summary: Glucose-inhibited neurons paradoxically increase firing activity in low-glucose conditions and decrease in high-glucose conditions. This study reveals that the Ano4 channel mediates the electric responses of these neurons to glucose fluctuations.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Coralie Herent, Severine Diem, Giovanni Usseglio, Gilles Fortin, Julien Bouvier
Summary: Through neural circuit tracing and activity interference in mice, we have discovered two systems in the central locomotor network that enhance respiration in relation to running. One system involves the mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR) and the other involves the lumbar enlargement of the spinal cord. These findings expand our understanding of respiratory hyperpnea and the functional implications of cell types and pathways traditionally associated with locomotion or respiration.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Lin Zhang, Chenfei Li, Liting Yang, Gabriel Komla Adzika, Jeremiah Ong'achwa Machuki, Mingjin Shi, Qi Sun, Hong Sun
Summary: The study aimed to investigate the impact of estrogen deficiency during catecholamine stress on vasomotor function, as well as to utilize estrogen replacement therapy to mitigate the adverse effects of stress on aortic vessels. The results showed that estrogen prevented excessive weight gain during stress, while upregulating eNOS activities and decreasing ET-1 expressions to facilitate vasomotor functions. Overall, estrogen treatments during stress preserved vasomotor functions by preventing excessive intima-media thickening and collagen depositions in the aortic vascular walls.
FRONTIERS IN CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Helena Pinos, Ricardo Sanchez-Serrano, Beatriz Carrillo, Jose Manuel Fernandez-Garcia, Rocio Garcia-Ubeda, Ana de Paz, Gabriela E. Lopez-Tolsa, Pedro Vidal, Valeria Gutierrez-Ferre, Ricardo Pellon, Paloma Collado
Summary: This study investigated the changes in orexin and POMC populations in the hypothalamic nuclei of male Wistar rats after the ABA procedure. The results showed that ABA led to a significant decrease in body weight and an increase in activity. Moreover, the number of POMC cells decreased in the ABA group, and the number of orexin A-ir positive cells decreased in the LH in both the D and ABA groups.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Keshav S. Subramanian, Logan Tierno Lauer, Anna M. R. Hayes, Lea Decarie-Spain, Kara McBurnett, Anna C. Nourbash, Kristen N. Donohue, Alicia E. Kao, Alexander G. Bashaw, Denis Burdakov, Emily E. Noble, Lindsey A. Schier, Scott E. Kanoski
Summary: Food intake is regulated by both learned appetitive responses and physiological appetition signals. This study shows that melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH)-producing neurons in the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) integrate these processes to promote caloric intake. The activity of MCH neurons is responsive to food-related cues and increases during eating, suggesting their involvement in the appetitive and consummatory processes.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Antoine Carton-Leclercq, Sofia Carrion-Falgarona, Paul Baudin, Pierre Lemaire, Sarah Lecas, Thomas Topilko, Stephane Charpier, Severine Mahon
Summary: The study investigates the laminar expression of cortical activities induced by transient anoxia in the rat primary somatosensory cortex. It reveals a well-organized sequence of activity patterns across cortical layers after the interruption of brain oxygenation. The onset and propagation of anoxic depolarization (AD) show layer-dependent variations, while the repolarization of cortical neurons upon reoxygenation does not exhibit a specific spatio-temporal profile.
NEUROBIOLOGY OF DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Jessica M. M. Illenberger, Francisco J. J. Flores-Ramirez, Alessandra Matzeu, Barbara J. J. Mason, Remi Martin-Fardon
Summary: This study showed that suvorexant can reduce self-administration and relapse of prescription opioids, especially in females.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Yapeng Guo, Heng Xu, Xuyi Li, Zhiming Zhou
Summary: Parecoxib may have a protective effect on cerebral infarction rats, inhibiting apoptosis of hypothalamic and hippocampal neurons through the orexin neuron pathway.
JOURNAL OF BIOMATERIALS AND TISSUE ENGINEERING
(2021)