scholarly journals Leptin Receptor Signaling in Sim1-Expressing Neurons Regulates Body Temperature and Adaptive Thermogenesis

Endocrinology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 160 (4) ◽  
pp. 863-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isin Cakir ◽  
Myriam Diaz-Martinez ◽  
Pauline Lining Pan ◽  
E Brian Welch ◽  
Sachin Patel ◽  
...  

Abstract Leptin signals to regulate food intake and energy expenditure under conditions of normative energy homeostasis. The central expression and function of leptin receptor B (LepRb) have been extensively studied during the past two decades; however, the mechanisms by which LepRb signaling dysregulation contributes to the pathophysiology of obesity remains unclear. The paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) plays a crucial role in regulating energy balance as well as the neuroendocrine axes. The role of LepRb expression in the PVN in regard to the regulation of physiological function of leptin has been controversial. The single-minded homolog 1 gene (Sim1) is densely expressed in the PVN and in parts of the amygdala, making Sim1-Cre mice a useful model for examining molecular mechanisms regulating PVN function. In this study, we characterized the physiological role of LepRb in Sim1-expressing neurons using LepRb-floxed × Sim1-Cre mice. Sim1-specific LepRb-deficient mice were surprisingly hypophagic on regular chow but gained more weight upon exposure to a high-fat diet than did their control littermates. We show that Sim1-specific deletion of a single LepRb gene copy caused decreased surface and core body temperatures as well as decreased energy expenditure in ambient room temperatures in both female and male mice. Furthermore, cold-induced adaptive (nonshivering) thermogenesis is disrupted in homozygous knockout mice. A defective thermoregulatory response was associated with defective cold-induced upregulation of uncoupling protein 1 in brown adipose tissue and reduced serum T4. Our study provides novel functional evidence supporting LepRb signaling in Sim1 neurons in the regulation of body weight, core body temperature, and cold-induced adaptive thermogenesis.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wijang Pralampita Pulong ◽  
Miharu Ushikai ◽  
Emi Arimura ◽  
Masaharu Abe ◽  
Hiroaki Kawaguchi ◽  
...  

Different involvement of leptin signaling in food intake (FI) and body temperature (BT) in pups and adults has been suggested. However, the leptin receptor (Lepr) long-form-deficient (db) mouse line has not been fully examined in pups. In the most available db mouse line, wild-type (WT) mice have a mutation in the dedicator of cytokinesis 7 gene, named misty, which was recently revealed to be involved in neuronal development. Therefore, we established a line of db mice without the misty mutation using natural mating. Adult (8 weeks of age) homozygous db/db mice displayed significantly higher core body weight (BW) and FI and significantly lower core BT than WT mice. However, postnatal (2 weeks of age) db/db mice displayed similar BW and milk intake and significantly lower core BT than WT mice. Correspondingly, adult and postnatal db/db mice exhibited altered mRNA levels of hypothalamic orexigenic and anorexigenic peptide in adults but not in pups. Additionally, db/db mice displayed significantly lower mRNA levels of brown adipose tissue uncoupling protein 1 at both ages. In conclusion, the db mouse line without the misty mutation clearly showed the different involvements of the Lepr long form in FI and BT in pups and adults.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Wootton Hill ◽  
Iyad H Manaserh

Abstract The important role of astrocytes in the central control of energy balance and glucose homeostasis has only recently been recognized. Changes in thermoregulation can lead to metabolic dysregulation, but the role of astrocytes in this process is not yet clear. Therefore, we generated mice congenitally lacking insulin receptors (IR) in astrocytes (IRKOGFAP mice) to investigate the involvement of astrocyte insulin signaling. IRKOGFAP mice displayed a significant decrease in energy expenditure and a striking decrease in basal and fasting body temperature. When exposed to cold, however, they were able to mount a thermogenic response. Brown adipose tissue in IRKOGFAP mice exhibited increased adipocyte size, more apoptosis, loss of innervation, and decreased βAR3 expression levels. These findings identify a novel role for astrocyte insulin signaling in the development of normal body temperature control and sympathetic activation of BAT. Targeting insulin signaling in astrocytes has the potential to serve as a novel target for increasing energy expenditure.


2020 ◽  
Vol 247 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-52
Author(s):  
Iyad H Manaserh ◽  
Emily Maly ◽  
Marziyeh Jahromi ◽  
Lakshmikanth Chikkamenahalli ◽  
Joshua Park ◽  
...  

The important role of astrocytes in the central control of energy balance and glucose homeostasis has recently been recognized. Changes in thermoregulation can lead to metabolic dysregulation, but the role of astrocytes in this process is not yet clear. Therefore, we generated mice congenitally lacking insulin receptors (Ir) in astrocytes (IrKOGFAP mice) to investigate the involvement of astrocyte insulin signaling. IrKOGFAP mice displayed significantly lower energy expenditure and a strikingly lower basal and fasting body temperature. When exposed to cold, however, they were able to mount a thermogenic response. IrKOGFAP mice displayed sex differences in metabolic function and thermogenesis that may contribute to the development of obesity and type II diabetes as early as 2 months of age. While brown adipose tissue exhibited higher adipocyte size in both sexes, more apoptosis was seen in IrKOGFAP males. Less innervation and lower BAR3 expression levels were also observed in IrKOGFAP brown adipose tissue. These effects have not been reported in models of astrocyte Ir deletion in adulthood. In contrast, body weight and glucose regulatory defects phenocopied such models. These findings identify a novel role for astrocyte insulin signaling in the development of normal body temperature control and sympathetic activation of BAT. Targeting insulin signaling in astrocytes has the potential to serve as a novel target for increasing energy expenditure.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 3020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winifred W. Yau ◽  
Paul M. Yen

Thermogenesis is the production of heat that occurs in all warm-blooded animals. During cold exposure, there is obligatory thermogenesis derived from body metabolism as well as adaptive thermogenesis through shivering and non-shivering mechanisms. The latter mainly occurs in brown adipose tissue (BAT) and muscle; however, white adipose tissue (WAT) also can undergo browning via adrenergic stimulation to acquire thermogenic potential. Thyroid hormone (TH) also exerts profound effects on thermoregulation, as decreased body temperature and increased body temperature occur during hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, respectively. We have termed the TH-mediated thermogenesis under thermoneutral conditions “activated” thermogenesis. TH acts on the brown and/or white adipose tissues to induce uncoupled respiration through the induction of the uncoupling protein (Ucp1) to generate heat. TH acts centrally to activate the BAT and browning through the sympathetic nervous system. However, recent studies also show that TH acts peripherally on the BAT to directly stimulate Ucp1 expression and thermogenesis through an autophagy-dependent mechanism. Additionally, THs can exert Ucp1-independent effects on thermogenesis, most likely through activation of exothermic metabolic pathways. This review summarizes thermogenic effects of THs on adipose tissues.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (5) ◽  
pp. 1607-1612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Willem J. Laursen ◽  
Marco Mastrotto ◽  
Dominik Pesta ◽  
Owen H. Funk ◽  
Jena B. Goodman ◽  
...  

Hibernating mammals possess a unique ability to reduce their body temperature to ambient levels, which can be as low as −2.9 °C, by active down-regulation of metabolism. Despite such a depressed physiologic phenotype, hibernators still maintain activity in their nervous systems, as evidenced by their continued sensitivity to auditory, tactile, and thermal stimulation. The molecular mechanisms that underlie this adaptation remain unknown. We report, using differential transcriptomics alongside immunohistologic and biochemical analyses, that neurons from thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) express mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). The expression changes seasonally, with higher expression during hibernation compared with the summer active state. Functional and pharmacologic analyses show that squirrel UCP1 acts as the typical thermogenic protein in vitro. Accordingly, we found that mitochondria isolated from torpid squirrel brain show a high level of palmitate-induced uncoupling. Furthermore, torpid squirrels during the hibernation season keep their brain temperature significantly elevated above ambient temperature and that of the rest of the body, including brown adipose tissue. Together, our findings suggest that UCP1 contributes to local thermogenesis in the squirrel brain, and thus supports nervous tissue function at low body temperature during hibernation.


Endocrinology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 155 (9) ◽  
pp. 3484-3492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keita Kinoshita ◽  
Nobuaki Ozaki ◽  
Yusuke Takagi ◽  
Yoshiharu Murata ◽  
Yoshiharu Oshida ◽  
...  

Abstract Glucagon, a counterregulatory hormone to insulin, serves as a regulator of glucose homeostasis and acts in response to hypoglycemia. Earlier studies have shown that glucagon administration induces thermogenesis in experimental animal models. However, it is not known whether endogenous glucagon is involved in the regulation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) function. Here we investigated the role of glucagon in cold-induced thermogenesis in male mice deficient in proglucagon-derived peptides (GCGKO mice). Upon exposure to cold, GCGKO mice exhibited a greater decrease in rectal temperature than control mice. The cold exposure-induced increase in oxygen consumption in GCGKO mice was less than that seen in control mice. Moreover, the increase in oxygen consumption after administration of a β3-adrenergic receptor agonist, CL-316,243, was also lesser in GCGKO than in control mice. Expression of thermogenic genes, including the gene encoding uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1), was reduced in the BAT of GCGKO mice under ambient as well as cold conditions. Administration of glucagon restored the expression of Ucp1 mRNA in the BAT as well as the expression of the fibroblast growth factor 21 gene (Fgf21) in the liver. Supplementation with glucagon for 2 weeks resulted in higher plasma Fgf21 levels and improved responses to CL-316,243 in GCGKO mice. These results indicated that endogenous glucagon is essential for adaptive thermogenesis and that it regulates BAT function, most likely by increasing hepatic Fgf21 production.


Physiology ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 313-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul.G. Dulloo ◽  
Sonia Samec

Several members of the mitochondrial carrier protein family are classified as uncoupling proteins. In contrast to the uncoupling protein specific to brown adipose tissue (UCP1), the physiological role of skeletal muscle uncoupling proteins (UCP2 and UCP3) in weight regulation seems more closely associated with the regulation of lipids as fuel substrate than as mediators of adaptive thermogenesis.


2009 ◽  
Vol 297 (5) ◽  
pp. R1293-R1301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang-Bin Tang ◽  
Jian-Guo Cui ◽  
De-Hua Wang

Brandt's voles Lasiopodomys brandtii exhibit large increases in nonshivering thermogenesis to cope with chronic cold exposure, resulting in compensatory hyperphagia and fat mobilization. These physiological events are accompanied by a remarkable reduction in serum leptin levels. However, the role of hypoleptinemia in cold adaptation in this species is still unknown. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that hypoleptinemia contributes to increases in food intake and brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis by modifying hypothalamic neuropeptides in cold-exposed Brandt's voles. Adult male voles were transferred to 5°C for 28 days. Accompanied by a decrease in serum leptin levels, hypothalamic agouti-related protein (AgRP) mRNA levels were significantly increased, but there were no changes in the long form of leptin receptor (Ob-Rb), suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3), neuropeptide Y (NPY) mRNA, proopiomelanocortin (POMC), and cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated peptide (CART) mRNA levels in the hypothalamus. When cold-exposed voles were returned to warm (23°C) for 28 days, body mass, food intake, serum leptin, and AgRP mRNA were restored to control levels. Leptin administration in cold-exposed voles decreased food intake as well as hypothalamic AgRP mRNA levels. There were no significant effects of leptin administration on hypothalamic Ob-Rb, SOCS3, NPY, POMC, CART mRNA, and uncoupling protein 1 levels under cold conditions. These results suggest that hypoleptinemia partially contributes to cold-induced hyperphagia, which might involve the elevation of hypothalamic AgRP gene expression.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hidekatsu Yanai ◽  
Hiroshi Yoshida ◽  
Yuji Hirowatari ◽  
Norio Tada

Characteristics for the serum lipid abnormalities in the obesity/metabolic syndrome are elevated fasting, postprandial triglyceride (TG), and decreased high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C). Diacylglycerol (DAG) oil ingestion has been reported to ameliorate postprandial hyperlipidemia and prevent obesity by increasing energy expenditure, due to the intestinal physiochemical dynamics that differ from triacylglycerol (TAG). Our study demonstrated that DAG suppresses postprandial increase in TG-rich lipoprotein, very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), and insulin, as compared with TAG in young, healthy individuals. Interestingly, our study also presented that DAG significantly increases plasma serotonin, which is mostly present in the intestine, and mediates thermogenesis, proposing a possible mechanism for a postprandial increase in energy expenditure by DAG. Our other study demonstrated that DAG suppresses postprandial increase in TG, VLDL-C, and remnant-like particle-cholesterol, in comparison with TAG in an apolipoprotein C-II deficient subject, suggesting that DAG suppresses postprandial TG-rich lipoprotein independently of lipoprotein lipase. Further, to understand the molecular mechanisms for DAG-mediated increase in serotonin and energy expenditure, we studied the effects of 1-monoacylglycerol and 2-monoacylglycerol, distinct digestive products of DAG and TAG, respectively, on serotonin release from the Caco-2 cells, the human intestinal cell line. We also studied effects of 1- and 2-monoacylglycerol, and serotonin on the expression of mRNA associated with β-oxidation, fatty acids metabolism, and thermogenesis, in the Caco-2 cells. 1-monoacylglycerol significantly increased serotonin release from the Caco-2 cells, compared with 2-monoacylglycerol by approximately 40%. The expression of mRNA of acyl-CoA oxidase (ACO), fatty acid translocase (FAT), and uncoupling protein-2 (UCP-2), was significantly higher in 1-MOG-treated Caco-2 cells, than 2-MOG-treated cells. The expression of mRNA of ACO, medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, FAT, and UCP-2, was significantly elevated in serotonin-treated Caco-2 cells, compared to cells incubated without serotonin. In conclusion, our clinical and in vitro studies suggested a possible therapeutic application of DAG for obesity, and obesity-related metabolic disorders.Key words: Diacylglycerol, intestine, obesity, serotonin, thermogenesis


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fredrik A. F. Markussen ◽  
Vebjørn J. Melum ◽  
Béatrice Bothorel ◽  
David G. Hazlerigg ◽  
Valérie Simonneaux ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Hibernation is a physiological and behavioural adaptation that permits survival during periods of reduced food availability and extreme environmental temperatures. This is achieved through cycles of metabolic depression and reduced body temperature (torpor) and rewarming (arousal). Rewarming from torpor is achieved through the activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) associated with a rapid increase in ventilation frequency. Here, we studied the rate of rewarming in the European hamster (Cricetus cricetus) by measuring both BAT temperature, core body temperature and ventilation frequency. Results Temperature was monitored in parallel in the BAT (IPTT tags) and peritoneal cavity (iButtons) during hibernation torpor-arousal cycling. We found that increases in brown fat temperature preceded core body temperature rises by approximately 48 min, with a maximum re-warming rate of 20.9℃*h-1. Re-warming was accompanied by a significant increase in ventilation frequency. The rate of rewarming was slowed by the presence of a spontaneous thoracic mass in one of our animals. Core body temperature re-warming was reduced by 6.2℃*h-1 and BAT rewarming by 12℃*h-1. Ventilation frequency was increased by 77% during re-warming in the affected animal compared to a healthy animal. Inspection of the position and size of the mass indicated it was obstructing the lungs and heart. Conclusions We have used a minimally invasive method to monitor BAT temperature during arousal from hibernation illustrating BAT re-warming significantly precedes core body temperature re-warming, informing future study design on arousal from hibernation. We also showed compromised re-warming from hibernation in an animal with a mass obstructing the lungs and heart, likely leading to inefficient ventilation and circulation.


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