title: Minireview: nesfatin-1--an emerging new player in the brain-gut, endocrine, and metabolic axis.
abstract: Nesfatin-1 is a recently identified 82-amino-acid peptide derived from the precursor protein, nucleobindin2 (NUCB2). The brain distribution of NUCB2/nesfatin-1 at the mRNA and protein level along with functional studies in rodents support a role for NUCB2/nesfatin-1 as a novel satiety molecule acting through leptin-independent mechanisms. In addition, nesfatin-1 induces a wide spectrum of central actions to stimulate the pituitary-adrenal axis and sympathetic nervous system and influences visceral functions and emotion. These central actions combined with the activation of NUCB2/nesfatin-1 neurons in the brain by various stressors are indicative of a role in the adaptive response under stressful conditions. In the periphery, evidence is mounting that nesfatin-1 exerts a direct glucose-dependent insulinotropic action on β-cells of the pancreatic islets. However, the cellular mechanisms of nesfatin-1's action remain poorly understood, partly because the receptor through which nesfatin-1 exerts its pleiotropic actions is yet to be identified.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, CURE Digestive Diseases Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles, Building 115, Room 117, Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, 11301 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90073, USA.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stengel
authors.forename: Yvette
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Taché
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004703:Endocrine System / Q000378:metabolism*; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000378:metabolism; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D000080866:Nucleobindins; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000378:metabolism; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D000080866:Nucleobindins