title: Identification of neuronal subpopulations that project from hypothalamus to both liver and adipose tissue polysynaptically.
abstract: The autonomic nervous system regulates fuel availability and energy storage in the liver, adipose tissue, and other organs; however, the molecular components of this neural circuit are poorly understood. We sought to identify neural populations that project from the CNS indirectly through multisynaptic pathways to liver and epididymal white fat in mice using pseudorabies virus strains expressing different reporters together with BAC transgenesis and immunohistochemistry. Neurons common to both circuits were identified in subpopulations of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVH) by double labeling with markers expressed in viruses injected in both sites. The lateral hypothalamus and arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus and brainstem regions (nucleus of the solitary tract and A5 region) also project to both tissues but are labeled at later times. Connections from these same sites to the PVH were evident after direct injection of virus into the PVH, suggesting that these regions lie upstream of the PVH in a common pathway to liver and adipose tissue (two metabolically active organs). These common populations of brainstem and hypothalamic neurons express neuropeptide Y and proopiomelanocortin in the arcuate nucleus, melanin-concentrating hormone, and orexin in the lateral hypothalamus and in the corticotrophin-releasing hormone and oxytocin in the PVH. The delineation of this circuitry will facilitate a functional analysis of the possible role of these potential command-like neurons to modulate autonomic outflow and coordinate metabolic responses in liver and adipose tissue.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stanley
authors.forename: Shirly
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Segal
authors.forename: Cristian A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Viale
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: DeFalco
authors.forename: XiaoLi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Lora K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Heisler
authors.forename: Jeffrey M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Friedman
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000378:metabolism; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D007028:Hypothalamic Hormones / Q000378:metabolism; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008543:Melanins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008954:Models, Biological; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000378:metabolism; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000378:metabolism; D000068797:Orexins; D010907:Pituitary Hormones / Q000378:metabolism; D011333:Pro-Opiomelanocortin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007028:Hypothalamic Hormones; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008543:Melanins; D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D009479:Neuropeptides; D000068797:Orexins; D010907:Pituitary Hormones; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D011333:Pro-Opiomelanocortin; C019463:melanin-concentrating hormone