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Leptin also influences brain cells that control appetite, researchers find
Date:
June 1, 2014
Source:
Yale University
Summary:
Twenty
years after the hormone leptin was found to regulate metabolism,
appetite, and weight through brain cells called neurons, researchers
have found that the hormone also acts on other types of cells to control
appetite. Leptin, a naturally occurring hormone, is known for its
hunger-blocking effect on the hypothalamus, a region in the brain. Food
intake is influenced by signals that travel from the body to the brain.
Leptin is one of the molecules that signal the brain to modulate food
intake.
Human
brain drawing (stock image). Leptin is one of the molecules that signal
the brain to modulate food intake. It is produced in fat cells and
informs the brain of the metabolic state.
Credit: © Tony Baggett / Fotolia
Twenty
years after the hormone leptin was found to regulate metabolism,
appetite, and weight through brain cells called neurons, Yale School of
Medicine researchers have found that the hormone also acts on other
types of cells to control appetite.
Published in the June 1 issue of Nature Neuroscience, the findings could lead to development of treatments for metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes.
"Up until now, the scientific community thought that leptin acts exclusively in neurons to modulate behavior and body weight," said senior author Tamas Horvath, the Jean and David W. Wallace Professor of Biomedical Research and chair of comparative medicine at Yale School of Medicine. "This work is now changing that paradigm."
Leptin, a naturally occurring hormone, is known for its hunger-blocking effect on the hypothalamus, a region in the brain. Food intake is influenced by signals that travel from the body to the brain. Leptin is one of the molecules that signal the brain to modulate food intake. It is produced in fat cells and informs the brain of the metabolic state. If animals are missing leptin, or the leptin receptor, they eat too much and become severely obese.
Leptin's effect on metabolism has been found to control the brain's neuronal circuits, but no previous studies have definitively found that leptin could control the behavior of cells other than neurons.
To test the theory, Horvath and his team selectively knocked out leptin receptors in the adult non-neuronal glial cells of mice. The team then recorded the water and food intake, as well as physical activity every five days. They found that animals responded less to feeding reducing effects of leptin but had heightened feeding responses to the hunger hormone ghrelin.
"Glial cells provide the main barrier between the periphery and the brain," said Horvath. "Thus glial cells could be targeted for drugs that treat metabolic disorders, including obesity and diabetes."
"Up until now, the scientific community thought that leptin acts exclusively in neurons to modulate behavior and body weight," said senior author Tamas Horvath, the Jean and David W. Wallace Professor of Biomedical Research and chair of comparative medicine at Yale School of Medicine. "This work is now changing that paradigm."
Leptin, a naturally occurring hormone, is known for its hunger-blocking effect on the hypothalamus, a region in the brain. Food intake is influenced by signals that travel from the body to the brain. Leptin is one of the molecules that signal the brain to modulate food intake. It is produced in fat cells and informs the brain of the metabolic state. If animals are missing leptin, or the leptin receptor, they eat too much and become severely obese.
Leptin's effect on metabolism has been found to control the brain's neuronal circuits, but no previous studies have definitively found that leptin could control the behavior of cells other than neurons.
To test the theory, Horvath and his team selectively knocked out leptin receptors in the adult non-neuronal glial cells of mice. The team then recorded the water and food intake, as well as physical activity every five days. They found that animals responded less to feeding reducing effects of leptin but had heightened feeding responses to the hunger hormone ghrelin.
"Glial cells provide the main barrier between the periphery and the brain," said Horvath. "Thus glial cells could be targeted for drugs that treat metabolic disorders, including obesity and diabetes."
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Yale University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
The above story is based on materials provided by Yale University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
- Jae Geun Kim, Shigetomo Suyama, Marco Koch, Sungho Jin, Pilar Argente-Arizon, Jesús Argente, Zhong-Wu Liu, Marcelo R Zimmer, Jin Kwon Jeong, Klara Szigeti-Buck, Yuanqing Gao, Cristina Garcia-Caceres, Chun-Xia Yi, Natalina Salmaso, Flora M Vaccarino, Julie Chowen, Sabrina Diano, Marcelo O Dietrich, Matthias H Tschöp, Tamas L Horvath. Leptin signaling in astrocytes regulates hypothalamic neuronal circuits and feeding. Nature Neuroscience, 2014; DOI: 10.1038/nn.3725
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