scholarly journals Role of Hypothalamic Proopiomelanocortin Neuron Autophagy in the Control of Appetite and Leptin Response

Endocrinology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 153 (4) ◽  
pp. 1817-1826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenying Quan ◽  
Hyun-Kyong Kim ◽  
Eun-Yi Moon ◽  
Su Sung Kim ◽  
Cheol Soo Choi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Energy Homeostasis ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Specific Substrate ◽  
Diet Induced Obesity ◽  
Leptin Sensitivity ◽  
Activation Of Transcription ◽  
Induced Signal ◽  
Transcription 3

Autophagy is a catabolic cellular process involving the degradation of the cell's own components. Although the role of autophagy of diverse tissues in body metabolism has been investigated, the importance of autophagy in hypothalamic proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons, key regulators of energy balance, has not been addressed. The role of autophagy in leptin sensitivity that is critical for the control of body weight and appetite has also not been investigated. We produced mice with specific deletion of autophagy-related 7 (Atg7), an essential autophagy gene, in hypothalamic POMC neurons (Atg7ΔPOMC mice). Atg7 expression was deficient in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus of Atg7ΔPOMC mice. p62, a specific substrate of autophagy, accumulated in the hypothalamus of Atg7ΔPOMC mice, which colocalized with ubiquitin. Atg7ΔPOMC mice had increased body weight due to increased food intake and decreased energy expenditure. Atg7ΔPOMC mice were not more prone to diet-induced obesity compared with control mice but more susceptible to hyperglycemia after high-fat diet. The ability of leptin to suppress fasting-elicited hyperphagia and weight gain during refeeding was attenuated in Atg7ΔPOMC mice. Deficient autophagy did not significantly affect POMC neuron number but impaired leptin-induced signal transducer and activation of transcription 3 activation. Our findings indicate a critical role for autophagy of POMC neurons in the control of energy homeostasis and leptin signaling.

scholarly journals STAT3 but Not ERK2 Is a Crucial Mediator Against Diet-Induced Obesity via VMH Neurons

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Henrique Marques Gonçalves ◽  
Sabrina Mara Tristão ◽  
Rafaella Eduarda Volpi ◽  
Gislaine Almeida-Pereira ◽  
Beatriz de Carvalho Borges ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Energy Homeostasis ◽  
Specific Pattern ◽  
Conditional Knockout ◽  
Steroidogenic Factor 1 ◽  
Diet Induced Obesity ◽  
Affect Body Weight

Leptin plays an important role in the protection against diet-induced obesity (DIO) by its actions in ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) neurons. However, little is known about the intracellular mechanisms involved in these effects. To assess the role of the STAT3 and ERK2 signaling in neurons that express the steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1) in the VMH on energy homeostasis, we used cre-lox technology to generate male and female mice with specific disruption of STAT3 or ERK2 in SF1 neurons of the VMH. We demonstrated that the conditional knockout of STAT3 in SF1 neurons of the VMH did not affect body weight, food intake, energy expenditure and glucose homeostasis in animals on regular chow. However, when challenged with high-fat diet (HFD), loss of STAT3 in SF1 neurons caused a significant increase in body weight, food intake and energy efficiency that was more remarkable in females which also showed a decrease in energy expenditure. In contrast, deletion of ERK2 in SF1 neurons of VMH did not have any impact on energy homeostasis in both regular diet and HFD conditions. In conclusion, STAT3 but not ERK2 signaling in SF1 neurons of VMH plays a crucial role to protect against DIO in a sex-specific pattern.

scholarly journals The central melanocortin system and human obesity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongjie Yang ◽  
Yong Xu
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Energy Homeostasis ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Human Obesity ◽  
Melanocortin System ◽  
Prevalence Of Obesity

Abstract The prevalence of obesity and the associated comorbidities highlight the importance of understanding the regulation of energy homeostasis. The central melanocortin system plays a critical role in controlling body weight balance. Melanocortin neurons sense and integrate the neuronal and hormonal signals, and then send regulatory projections, releasing anorexigenic or orexigenic melanocortin neuropeptides, to downstream neurons to regulate the food intake and energy expenditure. This review summarizes the latest progress in our understanding of the role of the melanocortin pathway in energy homeostasis. We also review the advances in the identification of human genetic variants that cause obesity via mechanisms that affect the central melanocortin system, which have provided rational targets for treatment of genetically susceptible patients.

scholarly journals Agrp-Specific Ablation of Scly Protects against Diet-Induced Obesity and Leptin Resistance

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Torres ◽  
Matthew W. Pitts ◽  
Ann C. Hashimoto ◽  
Marla J. Berry
Keyword(s):  
Knockout Mice ◽  
Energy Homeostasis ◽  
Leptin Resistance ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Metabolism Regulation ◽  
Diet Induced Obesity ◽  
Leptin Sensitivity ◽  
Brown Adipose ◽  
Whole Body Metabolism

Selenium, an essential trace element known mainly for its antioxidant properties, is critical for proper brain function and regulation of energy metabolism. Whole-body knockout of the selenium recycling enzyme, selenocysteine lyase (Scly), increases susceptibility to metabolic syndrome and diet-induced obesity in mice. Scly knockout mice also have decreased selenoprotein expression levels in the hypothalamus, a key regulator of energy homeostasis. This study investigated the role of selenium in whole-body metabolism regulation using a mouse model with hypothalamic knockout of Scly. Agouti-related peptide (Agrp) promoter-driven Scly knockout resulted in reduced weight gain and adiposity while on a high-fat diet (HFD). Scly-Agrp knockout mice had reduced Agrp expression in the hypothalamus, as measured by Western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC). IHC also revealed that while control mice developed HFD-induced leptin resistance in the arcuate nucleus, Scly-Agrp knockout mice maintained leptin sensitivity. Brown adipose tissue from Scly-Agrp knockout mice had reduced lipid deposition and increased expression of the thermogenic marker uncoupled protein-1. This study sheds light on the important role of selenium utilization in energy homeostasis, provides new information on the interplay between the central nervous system and whole-body metabolism, and may help identify key targets of interest for therapeutic treatment of metabolic disorders.

scholarly journals STAT3 but Not ERK2 Is a Crucial Mediator Against Diet-Induced Obesity via VMH Neurons

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Henrique Marques Gonçalves ◽  
Sabrina Mara Tristão ◽  
Rafaella Eduarda Volpi ◽  
Gislaine Almeida-Pereira ◽  
Beatriz de Carvalho Borges ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Energy Homeostasis ◽  
Specific Pattern ◽  
Conditional Knockout ◽  
Steroidogenic Factor 1 ◽  
Diet Induced Obesity ◽  
Affect Body Weight

Leptin plays an important role in the protection against diet-induced obesity (DIO) by its actions in ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) neurons. However, little is known about the intracellular mechanisms involved in these effects. To assess the role of the STAT3 and ERK2 signaling in neurons that express the steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1) in the VMH on energy homeostasis, we used cre-lox technology to generate male and female mice with specific disruption of STAT3 or ERK2 in SF1 neurons of the VMH. We demonstrated that the conditional knockout of STAT3 in SF1 neurons of the VMH did not affect body weight, food intake, energy expenditure and glucose homeostasis in animals on regular chow. However, when challenged with high-fat diet (HFD), loss of STAT3 in SF1 neurons caused a significant increase in body weight, food intake and energy efficiency that was more remarkable in females which also showed a decrease in energy expenditure. In contrast, deletion of ERK2 in SF1 neurons of VMH did not have any impact on energy homeostasis in both regular diet and HFD conditions. In conclusion, STAT3 but not ERK2 signaling in SF1 neurons of VMH plays a crucial role to protect against DIO in a sex-specific pattern.

scholarly journals Uroguanylin Improves Leptin Responsiveness in Diet-Induced Obese Mice

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cintia Folgueira ◽  
Daniel Beiroa ◽  
María González-Rellán ◽  
Begoña Porteiro ◽  
Edward Milbank ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Metabolic Regulation ◽  
Energy Homeostasis ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
The Body ◽  
Leptin Sensitivity ◽  
Homeostasis Regulation ◽  
Transcription 3 ◽  
Hypothalamic Level

The gastrointestinal-brain axis is a key mediator of the body weight and energy homeostasis regulation. Uroguanylin (UGN) has been recently proposed to be a part of this gut-brain axis regulating food intake, body weight and energy expenditure. Expression of UGN is regulated by the nutritional status and dependent on leptin levels. However, the exact molecular mechanisms underlying this UGN-leptin metabolic regulation at a hypothalamic level still remains unclear. Using leptin resistant diet-induced obese (DIO) mice, we aimed to determine whether UGN could improve hypothalamic leptin sensitivity. The present work demonstrates that the central co-administration of UGN and leptin potentiates leptin’s ability to decrease the food intake and body weight in DIO mice, and that UGN activates the hypothalamic signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases (PI3K) pathways. At a functional level, the blockade of PI3K, but not STAT3, blunted UGN-mediated leptin responsiveness in DIO mice. Overall, these findings indicate that UGN improves leptin sensitivity in DIO mice.

Defense of differfing body weight set points in diet-induced obese and resistant rats

1998 ◽  
Vol 274 (2) ◽  
pp. R412-R419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry E. Levin ◽  
Richard E. Keesey
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Diet Composition ◽  
Energy Homeostasis ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Sprague Dawley ◽  
Fat Pad ◽  
Insulin Levels ◽  
Diet Induced Obesity ◽  
Sprague Dawley Rats ◽  
Plasma Leptin

Among outbred Sprague-Dawley rats, approximately one-half develop diet-induced obesity (DIO) and one-half are diet resistant (DR) on a diet relatively high in fat and energy content (HE diet). Here we examined the defense of body weight in these two phenotypes. After HE diet for 13 wk, followed by chow for 6 wk, DR rats gained weight comparably but their plasma leptin levels fell to 54% of chow-fed controls. When a palatable liquid diet (Ensure) was added for 13 wk, other DR rats became obese. But when switched to chow, their intakes fell by 60%, and body and retroperitoneal (RP) fat pad weights and plasma leptin and insulin levels all declined for 2 wk and then stabilized at control levels after 6 wk. In contrast, comparably obese DIO rats decreased their intake by only 20%, and their weights plateaued when they were switched to chow after 13 wk on HE diet. When a subgroup of these DIO rats was restricted to 60% of prior intake, their weights fell to chow-fed control levels over 2 wk. But their leptin and insulin levels both fell disproportionately to 30% of controls. When no longer restricted, their intake and feed efficiency rose immediately, and their body and RP pad weights and leptin and insulin levels rose to those of unrestricted DIO rats within 2 wk. Thus diet and genetic background interact to establish high (DIO) or low (DR) body weight set points, which are then defended against subsequent changes in diet composition and/or energy availability. If leptin affects energy homeostasis, it does so differentially in DIO vs. DR rats since comparably low and high levels were associated with differing patterns of weight change between the two phenotypes.

scholarly journals The essential role of sodium bioenergetics and ATP homeostasis in the developmental transitions of a cyanobacterium

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Doello ◽  
Markus Burkhardt ◽  
Karl Forchhammer
Keyword(s):  
Energy Homeostasis ◽  
Nitrogen Starvation ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Quiescent State ◽  
Bacterial Survival ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Photoautotrophic Growth ◽  
Available Energy ◽  
Atp Levels

The ability to resume growth after a dormant period is an important strategy for the survival and spreading of bacterial populations. Energy homeostasis is critical in the transition into and out of a quiescent state. Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, a non-diazotrophic cyanobacterium, enters metabolic dormancy as a response to nitrogen starvation. We used Synechocystis as a model to investigate the regulation of ATP homeostasis during dormancy and unraveled a critical role for sodium bioenergetics in dormant cells. During nitrogen starvation, cells reduce their ATP levels and engage sodium bioenergetics to maintain the minimum ATP content required for viability. When nitrogen becomes available, energy requirements rise, and cells immediately increase ATP levels employing sodium bioenergetics and glycogen catabolism. These processes allow them to restore the photosynthetic machinery and resume photoautotrophic growth. Our work reveals a precise regulation of the energy metabolism essential for bacterial survival during periods of nutrient deprivation.

scholarly journals Knockout of inositol-requiring enzyme 1α in pro-opiomelanocortin neurons decreases fat mass via increasing energy expenditure

Open Biology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. 160131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuzhong Xiao ◽  
Tingting Xia ◽  
Junjie Yu ◽  
Yalan Deng ◽  
Hao Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Metabolic Diseases ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Liver Steatosis ◽  
Leptin Resistance ◽  
Hormone Production ◽  
Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone ◽  
Diet Induced Obesity ◽  
Brown Adipose

Although numerous functions of inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α) have been identified, a role of IRE1α in pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus is largely unknown. Here, we showed that mice lacking IRE1α specifically in POMC neurons (PIKO) are lean and resistant to high-fat diet-induced obesity and obesity-related insulin resistance, liver steatosis and leptin resistance. Furthermore, PIKO mice had higher energy expenditure, probably due to increased thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue. Additionally, α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone production was increased in the hypothalamus of PIKO mice. These results demonstrate that IRE1α in POMC neurons plays a critical role in the regulation of obesity and obesity-related metabolic disorders. Our results also suggest that IRE1α is not only an endoplasmic reticulum stress sensor, but also a new potential therapeutic target for obesity and obesity-related metabolic diseases.

scholarly journals The Antiobesity Effects of Centrally Administered Neuromedin U and Neuromedin S Are Mediated Predominantly by the Neuromedin U Receptor 2 (NMUR2)

Endocrinology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 150 (7) ◽  
pp. 3101-3109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Peier ◽  
Jennifer Kosinski ◽  
Kimberly Cox-York ◽  
Ying Qian ◽  
Kunal Desai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Energy Homeostasis ◽  
Central Administration ◽  
Diet Induced Obesity ◽  
Inhibit Food Intake ◽  
Selective Agonists ◽  
Treatment Of Obesity ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Deficient Mice

Neuromedin U (NMU) and neuromedin S (NMS) are structurally related neuropeptides that have been reported to modulate energy homeostasis. Pharmacological data have shown that NMU and NMS inhibit food intake when administered centrally and that NMU increases energy expenditure. Additionally, NMU-deficient mice develop obesity, whereas transgenic mice overexpressing NMU are lean and hypophagic. Two high-affinity NMU/NMS receptors, NMUR1 and NMUR2, have been identified. NMUR1 is predominantly expressed in the periphery, whereas NMUR2 is predominantly expressed in the brain, suggesting that the effects of centrally administered NMU and NMS are mediated by NMUR2. To evaluate the role of NMUR2 in the regulation of energy homeostasis, we characterized NMUR2-deficient (Nmur2−/−) mice. Nmur2−/− mice exhibited a modest resistance to diet-induced obesity that was at least in part due to reduced food intake. Acute central administration of NMU and NMS reduced food intake in wild-type but not in Nmur2−/− mice. The effects on activity and core temperature induced by centrally administered NMU were also absent in Nmur2−/− mice. Moreover, chronic central administration of NMU and NMS evoked significant reductions in body weight and sustained reductions in food intake in mice. In contrast, Nmur2−/− mice were largely resistant to these effects. Collectively, these data demonstrate that the anorectic and weight-reducing actions of centrally administered NMU and NMS are mediated predominantly by NMUR2, suggesting that NMUR2-selective agonists may be useful for the treatment of obesity.

scholarly journals Variations in Adipokine GenesAdipoQ,Lep, andLepRAre Associated with Risk for Obesity-Related Metabolic Disease: The Modulatory Role of Gene-Nutrient Interactions

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Emily Enns ◽  
Carla G. Taylor ◽  
Peter Zahradka
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Disease ◽  
Energy Homeostasis ◽  
Leptin Receptor ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Nutrient Interactions ◽  
The Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Susceptible Populations

Obesity rates are rapidly increasing worldwide and facilitate the development of many related disease states, such as cardiovascular disease, the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and various types of cancer. Variation in metabolically important genes can have a great impact on a population's susceptibility to becoming obese and/or developing related complications. The adipokines adiponectin and leptin, as well as the leptin receptor, are major players in the regulation of body energy homeostasis and fat storage. This paper summarizes the findings of single nucleotide polymorphisms in these three genes and their effect on obesity and metabolic disease risk. Additionally, studies of gene-nutrient interactions involving adiponectin, leptin, and the leptin receptor are highlighted to emphasize the critical role of diet in susceptible populations.

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