title: Nicotine decreases food intake through activation of POMC neurons.
abstract: Smoking decreases appetite, and smokers often report that they smoke to control their weight. Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the anorexic effects of smoking would facilitate the development of novel treatments to help with smoking cessation and to prevent or treat obesity. By using a combination of pharmacological, molecular genetic, electrophysiological, and feeding studies, we found that activation of hypothalamic α3β4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors leads to activation of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons. POMC neurons and subsequent activation of melanocortin 4 receptors were critical for nicotinic-induced decreases in food intake in mice. This study demonstrates that nicotine decreases food intake and body weight by influencing the hypothalamic melanocortin system and identifies critical molecular and synaptic mechanisms involved in nicotine-induced decreases in appetite.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 34 Park Street, Third Floor Research, New Haven, CT 06508, USA.
authors.forename: Yann S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Mineur
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abizaid
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Ramiro
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Salas
authors.forename: Ralph J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: DiLeone
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gündisch
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Diano
authors.forename: Mariella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Biasi
authors.forename: Tamas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Horvath
authors.forename: Xiao-Bing
authors.initials: XB
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Marina R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Picciotto
mesh_terms: D000470:Alkaloids / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001392:Azocines / Q000378:metabolism; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects*; D005731:Ganglionic Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D053486:Melanocortins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D011333:Pro-Opiomelanocortin / Q000378:metabolism*; D011807:Quinolizines / Q000378:metabolism; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000378:metabolism; D000093843:Quinolizidine Alkaloids
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D001392:Azocines; D005731:Ganglionic Stimulants; D053486:Melanocortins; D009538:Nicotine; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D011333:Pro-Opiomelanocortin; D011807:Quinolizines; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; C403530:nicotinic receptor alpha3beta4; C004712:cytisine; D000093843:Quinolizidine Alkaloids