Article
Neurosciences
Sora Shin, In-Jee You, Minju Jeong, Yeeun Bae, Xiao-Yun Wang, Mikel Leann Cawley, Abraham Han, Byung Kook Lim
Summary: Early-life trauma (ELT) is shown to cause binge eating and obesity later in life, and a study in mice has identified the neural circuits involved in this association. Downregulation of the leptin receptor in the lateral hypothalamus and increased activity of Lepr-expressing neurons are found to be crucial in ELT-induced binge-like eating and obesity. Inhibition of these neurons and activation of certain neurons in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray can normalize the maladaptive eating habits caused by ELT. This study provides insights into the underlying mechanisms of ELT-induced eating disorders and may lead to the development of new therapeutic targets.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Iris Stoltenborg, Fiona Peris-Sampedro, Erik Schele, Marie V. Le May, Roger A. H. Adan, Suzanne L. Dickson
Summary: The availability of Cre-based mouse lines has helped identify the neural circuitry driving hormone effects. As an alternative method, TRAP2 mice provide genetic access to hormone-activated populations. By utilizing TRAP2 mice, researchers visualized and stimulated ghrelin-activated cells, discovering their significant role in inducing an orexigenic response and impacting food choice.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Di Wang, Xiangyu Pan, Yu Zhou, Zifeng Wu, Kunpeng Ren, Hanyu Liu, Chaoli Huang, Yumei Yu, Teng He, Xiao Zhang, Ling Yang, Hongxing Zhang, Ming-Hu Han, Cunming Liu, Jun-Li Cao, Chun Yang
Summary: In this study, it was found that pain and anxiety comorbidities are a common health issue and the neural mechanisms underlying comorbidity are still unknown. The lateral septum (LS) was identified as a major brain region involved in processing both pain and anxiety. The activation of LS GABAergic neurons was found to induce hyperalgesia and anxiety-like behaviors, while the inhibition of these neurons reduced nocifensive withdrawal responses and anxiety behaviors.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Physiology
Kaitlin E. Burch, Kelly McCracken, Daniel J. Buck, Randall L. Davis, Dusti K. Sloan, Kathleen S. Curtis
Summary: Research suggests that weight gain after ovariectomy is associated with selective changes in metabolic hormone signaling in the CNS, including alterations in insulin and leptin receptors in different brain areas, potentially impacting weight regulation.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Yermek Rakhat, Kentaro Kaneko, Lei Wang, Wanxin Han, Yutaka Seino, Daisuke Yabe, Toshihiko Yada
Summary: d-allulose can suppress hunger-associated feeding and inhibit hunger-promoting neurons in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yanni Zhang, Qiulei Xi, Ming Zhong, Yi Jiang, Qiulin Zhuang, Zuoyou Ding, Shanjun Tan, Junjie Wang, Hao Liu, Zhige Zhang, Ben Zhou, Guohao Wu
Summary: Cachexia is common in cancer patients and its molecular basis is still unclear. This study investigated the regulatory pathway of tumors on appetite-inhibiting neurons (POMC) in the hypothalamus. Results showed that the tumor-expressed SEMA3D is positively related to POMC expression. Knocking out SEMA3D in mice increased food intake and body weight, and reduced muscle and fat catabolism. SEMA3D enhances POMC neuron activity by activating NRP2 and PlxnD1 expression. This research reveals that SEMA3D may play a vital role in appetite suppression and catabolic metabolism.
Article
Neurosciences
Mark A. Rossi, Marcus L. Basiri, Yuejia Liu, Yoshiko Hashikawa, Koichi Hashikawa, Lief E. Fenno, Yoon Seok Kim, Charu Ramakrishnan, Karl Deisseroth, Garret D. Stuber
Summary: The lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) contains distinct populations of glutamatergic neurons that project to different brain regions, with neurons projecting to the lateral habenula (LHb) or ventral tegmental area (VTA) showing anatomical, transcriptional, electrophysiological, and functional differences. Neurons projecting to the LHb are particularly sensitive to satiety state and feeding hormones, indicating differential processing of reward and aversion stimuli in divergent efferent pathways.
Article
Neurosciences
Valerie A. Wagner, Guorui Deng, Kristin E. Claflin, McKenzie L. Ritter, Huxing Cui, Pablo Nakagawa, Curt D. Sigmund, Lisa L. Morselli, Justin L. Grobe, Anne E. Kwitek
Summary: Using single-nucleus RNA sequencing, we observed changes in gene expression patterns of AT(1)R subtypes in AgRP neurons of the arcuate nucleus during DOCA-salt treatment, which is associated with blood pressure and metabolism regulation. Additionally, activation of microglia in the brain was found. These findings provide important insights into the physiological and pathophysiological significance of different subtypes of neuronal and glial cells.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Wan-Ying Dong, Xia Zhu, Hao-Di Tang, Ji-Ye Huang, Meng-Yu Zhu, Ping-Kai Cheng, Hao Wang, Xi-Yang Wang, Haitao Wang, Yu Mao, Wan Zhao, Yan Zhang, Wen-Juan Tao, Zhi Zhang
Summary: The authors discover a brain-to-stomach signalling axis that mediates stress-induced gastric dysfunction. Psychological and physical stress have been linked to gastric disorders in humans, but the mechanism connecting the brain and the stomach has been unclear. The study shows that the stomach receives acetylcholinergic inputs from the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (ACh(DMV)), which are innervated by serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (5-HTDRN). Chronic stress inhibits the 5-HTDRN & RARR; ACh(DMV) & RARR; stomach circuit, leading to decreased gastric function. Activation of this circuit reverses stress-induced gastric dysfunction. This study provides insights into the circuitry involved in brain regulation of the stomach.
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Lei Wang, Wanxin Han, Yusaku Iwasaki, Rakhat Yermek, Geoffrey W. G. Sharp, Yutaka Seino, Toshihiko Yada
Summary: The study found that isoalliin can enhance feeding in mice, activate orexigenic neurons, and provide scientific evidence for the health beneficial effects of onion historically and globally.
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Fiona Peris-Sampedro, Iris Stoltenborg, Marie V. Le May, Jeffrey M. Zigman, Roger A. H. Adan, Suzanne L. Dickson
Summary: This study evaluated the physical and metabolic phenotypes of heterozygous and homozygous Ghsr-IRES-Cre mice, finding that heterozygotes retain responsiveness to ghrelin, while homozygotes exhibit growth retardation.
MOLECULAR METABOLISM
(2021)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Bing-Qian Fan, Jun-Ming Xia, Dan-Dan Chen, Li-Li Feng, Jia-Hui Ding, Shuang-Shuang Li, Wen-Xian Li, Yuan Han
Summary: This study reveals the important role of medial septum (MS) glutamatergic neurons in pain processing and regulation. MS glutamatergic neurons modulate nociception by projecting to the lateral hypothalamus (LH), but not the supramammillary nucleus (SuM). These findings provide new insights into the neural circuit mechanisms underlying pain perception.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Fiona Peris-Sampedro, Iris Stoltenborg, Marie Le May, Pol Sole-Navais, Roger A. H. Adan, Suzanne L. Dickson
Summary: Environmental cues from palatable foods can drive rats to overconsume plain chow by impacting meal patterns, stimulating food-seeking and risk-taking behavior, and causing active ghrelin release. These cues recruit cells within the feeding circuitry, including those containing the ghrelin receptor, to powerfully drive food consumption in ways associated with heightened hunger.
Article
Cell Biology
Jose Manuel Fernandez-Garcia, Beatriz Carrillo, Patricia Tezanos, Helena Pinos, Paloma Collado
Summary: In this study, we investigated the effects of postnatal exposure to genistein on the morphology of the arcuate nucleus (Arc) in male and female rats. Our results showed that genistein treatment abolished sex differences in the volume, Nissl-stained neurons, and GPER-ir neurons in the ArcMP. Furthermore, genistein had different effects on GPER-ir neurons in the ArcMP and ArcL depending on the dose and sex.
MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Long Li, Romain Durand-de Cuttoli, Antonio V. Aubry, C. Joseph Burnett, Flurin Cathomas, Lyonna F. Parise, Kenny L. Chan, Carole Morel, Chongzhen Yuan, Yusuke Shimo, Hsiao-yun Lin, Jun Wang, Scott J. Russo
Summary: Research shows that following chronic social defeat stress, a subset of male and female mice tend to avoid social interaction with non-aggressive, same-sex juvenile C57BL/6J mice and do not exhibit context-dependent social reward after encounters. This avoidance behavior seems to be linked to the activation of specific stress-responsive neurons in the lateral septum, which interferes with social reward processing.
