title: The smoking gun in nicotine-induced anorexia.
abstract: Hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons are the major source of anorectic melanocortin peptides in the brain. A recent study (Mineur et al., 2011) demonstrates that nicotine directly stimulates arcuate POMC neurons through nicotinic acetylcholinergic α3β4 receptors, suggesting a new mechanism to understand the inverse relationship between tobacco smoking and body weight.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires C1428ADN, Argentina. mrubins@dna.uba.ar
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rubinstein
authors.forename: Malcolm J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Low