Obesity-blocking neurons in Drosophila.
In mammals, fat store levels are communicated by leptin and insulin signaling to brain centers that regulate food intake and metabolism. By using transgenic manipulation of neural activity, we report the isolation of two distinct neuronal populations in flies that perform a similar function, the c673a-Gal4 and fruitless-Gal4 neurons. When either of these neuronal groups is silenced, fat store levels increase. This change is mediated through an increase in food intake and altered metabolism in c673a-Gal4-silenced flies, while silencing fruitless-Gal4 neurons alters only metabolism. Hyperactivation of either neuronal group causes depletion of fat stores by increasing metabolic rate and decreasing fatty acid synthesis. Altering the activities of these neurons causes changes in expression of genes known to regulate fat utilization. Our results show that the fly brain measures fat store levels and can induce changes in food intake and metabolism to maintain them within normal limits.
Al-Anzi
Bader
B
Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. alanzi@caltech.edu
Sapin
Viveca
V
Waters
Christopher
C
Zinn
Kai
K
Wyman
Robert J
RJ
Benzer
Seymour
S
D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism / Q000235:genetics; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer / Q000379:methods; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004435:Eating / Q000235:genetics; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000235:genetics; D005223:Fats / Q000378:metabolism; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D009474:Neurons / Q000145:classification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005223:Fats; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate
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