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Zhang L, Verwer RWH, van Heerikhuize J, Lucassen PJ, Nathanielsz PW, Hol EM, Aronica E, Dhillo WS, Meynen G, Swaab DF. Progesterone receptor distribution in the human hypothalamus and its association with suicide. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2024; 12:16. [PMID: 38263257 PMCID: PMC10807127 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-024-01733-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The human hypothalamus modulates mental health by balancing interactions between hormonal fluctuations and stress responses. Stress-induced progesterone release activates progesterone receptors (PR) in the human brain and triggers alterations in neuropeptides/neurotransmitters. As recent epidemiological studies have associated peripheral progesterone levels with suicide risks in humans, we mapped PR distribution in the human hypothalamus in relation to age and sex and characterized its (co-) expression in specific cell types. The infundibular nucleus (INF) appeared to be the primary hypothalamic structure via which progesterone modulates stress-related neural circuitry. An elevation of the number of pro-opiomelanocortin+ (POMC, an endogenous opioid precursor) neurons in the INF, which was due to a high proportion of POMC+ neurons that co-expressed PR, was related to suicide in patients with mood disorders (MD). MD donors who died of legal euthanasia were for the first time enrolled in a postmortem study to investigate the molecular signatures related to fatal suicidal ideations. They had a higher proportion of PR co-expressing POMC+ neurons than MD patients who died naturally. This indicates that the onset of endogenous opioid activation in MD with suicide tendency may be progesterone-associated. Our findings may have implications for users of progesterone-enriched contraceptives who also have MD and suicidal tendencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Zhang
- Neuropsychiatric Disorders Lab, Neuroimmunology Group, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Ronald W H Verwer
- Neuropsychiatric Disorders Lab, Neuroimmunology Group, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Joop van Heerikhuize
- Neuropsychiatric Disorders Lab, Neuroimmunology Group, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Paul J Lucassen
- Brain Plasticity Group, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Peter W Nathanielsz
- Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming, Laramie, USA
| | - Elly M Hol
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, UMC Utrecht Brain Centre, University Medical Centre Utrecht, University Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Eleonora Aronica
- Department of (Neuro) Pathology, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Waljit S Dhillo
- Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Gerben Meynen
- Faculty of Humanities, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology and Utrecht Centre for Accountability and Liability Law (UCALL), Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Dick F Swaab
- Neuropsychiatric Disorders Lab, Neuroimmunology Group, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Dept. Neuropsychiatric Disorders, University of Amsterdam, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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Alkemade A, Bazin PL, Balesar R, Pine K, Kirilina E, Möller HE, Trampel R, Kros JM, Keuken MC, Bleys RLAW, Swaab DF, Herrler A, Weiskopf N, Forstmann BU. A unified 3D map of microscopic architecture and MRI of the human brain. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabj7892. [PMID: 35476433 PMCID: PMC9045605 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj7892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
We present the first three-dimensional (3D) concordance maps of cyto- and fiber architecture of the human brain, combining histology, immunohistochemistry, and 7-T quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in two individual specimens. These 3D maps each integrate data from approximately 800 microscopy sections per brain, showing neuronal and glial cell bodies, nerve fibers, and interneuronal populations, as well as ultrahigh-field quantitative MRI, all coaligned at the 200-μm scale to the stacked blockface images obtained during sectioning. These unprecedented 3D multimodal datasets are shared without any restrictions and provide a unique resource for the joint study of cell and fiber architecture of the brain, detailed anatomical atlasing, or modeling of the microscopic underpinnings of MRI contrasts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anneke Alkemade
- Integrative Model-Based Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Corresponding author. (A.A.); (B.U.F.)
| | - Pierre-Louis Bazin
- Integrative Model-Based Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Rawien Balesar
- Department of Neuropsychiatric disorders, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Kerrin Pine
- Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Evgeniya Kirilina
- Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Neurocomputation and Neuroimaging Unit, Department of Psychology and Educational Science, Free University Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, Berlin 14195, Germany
| | - Harald E. Möller
- NMR Methods Development Group, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Robert Trampel
- Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Johan M. Kros
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Max C. Keuken
- Integrative Model-Based Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Ronald L. A. W. Bleys
- Department of Anatomy, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Dick F. Swaab
- Department of Neuropsychiatric disorders, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Andreas Herrler
- Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Nikolaus Weiskopf
- Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Felix Bloch Institute for Solid State Physics, Faculty of Physics and Earth Sciences, Leipzig University, Linnéstraße 5, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Birte U. Forstmann
- Integrative Model-Based Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Corresponding author. (A.A.); (B.U.F.)
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Correa‐da‐Silva F, Fliers E, Swaab DF, Yi C. Hypothalamic neuropeptides and neurocircuitries in Prader Willi syndrome. J Neuroendocrinol 2021; 33:e12994. [PMID: 34156126 PMCID: PMC8365683 DOI: 10.1111/jne.12994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a rare and incurable congenital neurodevelopmental disorder, resulting from the absence of expression of a group of genes on the paternally acquired chromosome 15q11-q13. Phenotypical characteristics of PWS include infantile hypotonia, short stature, incomplete pubertal development, hyperphagia and morbid obesity. Hypothalamic dysfunction in controlling body weight and food intake is a hallmark of PWS. Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that PWS subjects have abnormal neurocircuitry engaged in the hedonic and physiological control of feeding behavior. This is translated into diminished production of hypothalamic effector peptides which are responsible for the coordination of energy homeostasis and satiety. So far, studies with animal models for PWS and with human post-mortem hypothalamic specimens demonstrated changes particularly in the infundibular and the paraventricular nuclei of the hypothalamus, both in orexigenic and anorexigenic neural populations. Moreover, many PWS patients have a severe endocrine dysfunction, e.g. central hypogonadism and/or growth hormone deficiency, which may contribute to the development of increased fat mass, especially if left untreated. Additionally, the role of non-neuronal cells, such as astrocytes and microglia in the hypothalamic dysregulation in PWS is yet to be determined. Notably, microglial activation is persistently present in non-genetic obesity. To what extent microglia, and other glial cells, are affected in PWS is poorly understood. The elucidation of the hypothalamic dysfunction in PWS could prove to be a key feature of rational therapeutic management in this syndrome. This review aims to examine the evidence for hypothalamic dysfunction, both at the neuropeptidergic and circuitry levels, and its correlation with the pathophysiology of PWS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Correa‐da‐Silva
- Department of Endocrinology and MetabolismAmsterdam Gastroenterology Endocrinology and MetabolismAmsterdam University Medical Center (UMC)University of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
- Laboratory of EndocrinologyAmsterdam University Medical Center (UMC)University of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
- Department of Neuropsychiatric DisordersNetherlands Institute for NeuroscienceAn Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Eric Fliers
- Department of Endocrinology and MetabolismAmsterdam Gastroenterology Endocrinology and MetabolismAmsterdam University Medical Center (UMC)University of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Dick F. Swaab
- Department of Neuropsychiatric DisordersNetherlands Institute for NeuroscienceAn Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Chun‐Xia Yi
- Department of Endocrinology and MetabolismAmsterdam Gastroenterology Endocrinology and MetabolismAmsterdam University Medical Center (UMC)University of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
- Laboratory of EndocrinologyAmsterdam University Medical Center (UMC)University of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
- Department of Neuropsychiatric DisordersNetherlands Institute for NeuroscienceAn Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesAmsterdamThe Netherlands
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Ahmed RM, Steyn F, Dupuis L. Hypothalamus and weight loss in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2021; 180:327-338. [PMID: 34225938 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-820107-7.00020-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating progressive neurodegenerative disorder. While initially pathophysiology was thought to be restricted to motor deficits, it is increasingly recognized that patients develop prominent changes in weight and eating behavior that result from and mediate the underlying neurodegenerative process. These changes include alterations in metabolism, lipid levels, and insulin resistance. Emerging research suggests that these alterations may be mediated through changes in the hypothalamic function, with atrophy of the hypothalamus shown in both ALS patients and also presymptomatic genetic at-risk patients. This chapter reviews the evidence for hypothalamic involvement in ALS, including melanocortin pathways and potential treatment targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebekah M Ahmed
- Memory and Cognition Clinic, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Central Sydney Medical School and Brain & Mind Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Frederik Steyn
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Department of Neurology, Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Luc Dupuis
- Université de Strasbourg, Inserm, UMR-S 1118, Centre de Recherches en Biomédecine, Strasbourg, France.
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5
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Kalsbeek MJT, Yi CX. The infundibular peptidergic neurons and glia cells in overeating, obesity, and diabetes. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2021; 180:315-325. [PMID: 34225937 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-820107-7.00019-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Dysfunctional regulation of energy homeostasis results in increased bodyweight and obesity, eventually leading to type 2 diabetes mellitus. The infundibular nucleus (IFN) of the hypothalamus is the main regulator of energy homeostasis. The peptidergic neurons and glia cells of the IFN receive metabolic cues concerning energy state of the body from the circulation. The IFN can monitor hormones like insulin and leptin and nutrients like glucose and fatty acids. All these metabolic cues are integrated into an output signal regulating energy homeostasis through the release of neuropeptides. These neuropeptides are released in several inter- and extrahypothalamic brain regions involved in regulation of energy homeostasis. This review will give an overview of the peripheral signals involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis, the peptidergic neurons and glial cells of the IFN, and will highlight the main intra-hypothalamic projection sites of the IFN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin J T Kalsbeek
- Laboratory of Endocrinology, Amsterdam University Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Gastroenterology Metabolism, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Chun-Xia Yi
- Laboratory of Endocrinology, Amsterdam University Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Gastroenterology Metabolism, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Amsterdam University Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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6
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Swaab DF, Bao AM. Matching of the postmortem hypothalamus from patients and controls. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2021; 179:141-156. [PMID: 34225959 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-819975-6.00007-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The quality of postmortem hypothalamus research depends strongly on a thorough clinical investigation and documentation of the patient's disorder and therapies. In addition, a systematic and professional neuropathological investigation of the entire brain of both the cases and the controls is absolutely crucial. In the experience of the Netherlands Brain Bank (NBB), about 20% of the clinical neurological diagnoses, despite being made in first rate clinics, have to be revised or require extra diagnoses after a complete and thorough neuropathologic review by the NBB. The neuropathology examination may reveal for instance that the elderly "controls" already have preclinical neurodegenerative alterations. In postmortem studies, the patient and control groups must be matched for as many as possible of the known confounding factors. This is necessary to make the groups as similar as possible, except for the topic being investigated. Confounding factors are present (i) before, (ii) during, and (iii) after death. They are, respectively: (i) genetic background, systemic diseases, duration and gravity of illness, medicines and addictive compounds used, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, clock- and seasonal time of death, and lateralization; (ii) agonal state, stress of dying; and (iii) postmortem delay, freezing procedures, fixation, and storage time. Agonal state is generally estimated by measuring the pH of the brain. However, there are disorders in which pH is lower as a part of the disease process. Because of the large number of potentially confounding factors that differ according to, for instance, brain area and disease, a brain bank should have a large number of controls at its disposal for appropriate matching. If matching fails for some confounders, the influence of the confounders may be determined by statistical methods, such as analysis of variance or the regression models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dick F Swaab
- Department Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Ai-Min Bao
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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7
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Korf HW, Møller M. Arcuate nucleus, median eminence, and hypophysial pars tuberalis. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2021; 180:227-251. [PMID: 34225932 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-820107-7.00015-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The arcuate nucleus (ARC) is located in the mediobasal hypothalamus and forms a morphological and functional entity with the median eminence (ME), the ARC-ME. The ARC comprises several distinct types of neurons controlling prolactin release, food intake, and metabolism as well as reproduction and onset of puberty. The ME lacks a blood-brain barrier and provides an entry for peripheral signals (nutrients, leptin, ghrelin). ARC neurons are adjacent to the wall of the third ventricle. This facilitates the exchange of signals from and to the cerebrospinal fluid. The ventricular wall is composed of tanycytes that serve different functions. Axons of ARC neurons contribute to the tuberoinfundibular tract terminating in the ME on the hypophysial portal vessels (HPV) and establish one of the neurohumoral links between the hypothalamus and the pituitary. ARC neurons are reciprocally connected with several other hypothalamic nuclei, the brainstem, and reward pathways. The hypophysial pars tuberalis (PT) is attached to the ME and the HPV. The PT, an important interface of the neuroendocrine system, is mandatory for the control of seasonal functions. This contribution provides an update of our knowledge about the ARC-ME complex and the PT which, inter alia, is needed to understand the pathophysiology of metabolic diseases and reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Horst-Werner Korf
- Center for Anatomy and Brain Research, Institute for Anatomy, Düsseldorf, Germany.
| | - Morten Møller
- Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Hirsch HJ, Gross-Tsur V, Sabag Y, Nice S, Genstil L, Benarroch F, Constantini N. Myokine levels after resistance exercise in young adults with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Am J Med Genet A 2019; 182:115-121. [PMID: 31692257 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.a.61391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2019] [Revised: 09/27/2019] [Accepted: 09/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with PWS require marked caloric restriction and daily exercise to prevent morbid obesity. Lower energy expenditure, hypotonia, decreased muscle mass, and cognitive impairment make exercise challenging for this population. Exercise guidelines include resistance training as an important component. Myokine responses to resistance exercise may mediate beneficial metabolic effects. We aimed to determine if young PWS adults can perform a resistance exercise program and to measure myokine responses in PWS versus age- and BMI-matched controls. Each group included 11 participants (7M/4F). Ages and BMI for PWS and controls were 30.7 ± 4.6 versus 30.1 ± 4.3 years and 28.3 ± 4.3 versus 28.2 ± 4.2 kg/m2 , respectively. Glucose, creatine kinase (CK), lactate, and myokines were measured before, after, 30, and 60 min after completing eight resistance exercises. Myokines were assayed using a multiplex myokine panel (Merck Millipore). CK was lower in PWS versus controls (62 ± 16 vs.322 ± 100 U/L, p < .04). Peak lactate was 3.7 ± 0.7 in PWS versus 7.3 ± 0.7 mmol/Lin controls (p < .001). The increase in interleukin-6 was similar in PWS and controls (41 ± 16% and 35 ± 10%, respectively). Pre- and post-exercise levels of the six myokines assayed showed no consistent differences between the PWS and control participants. PWS young adults are capable of performing resistance/strength-building exercise. The lower CK and peak lactate levels in PWS may reflect decreased muscle mass in this population. Further studies are needed to determine optimal exercise regimens and assess the role of myokines incontributing to the metabolic phenotype of PWS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harry J Hirsch
- Multidisciplinary Prader-Willi Syndrome Clinic, Neuropediatric Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Varda Gross-Tsur
- Multidisciplinary Prader-Willi Syndrome Clinic, Neuropediatric Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.,The Hebrew University School of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Yanir Sabag
- The Hebrew University School of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Shachar Nice
- Heidi Rothberg Sport Medicine Center, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Larry Genstil
- Multidisciplinary Prader-Willi Syndrome Clinic, Neuropediatric Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Fortu Benarroch
- Multidisciplinary Prader-Willi Syndrome Clinic, Neuropediatric Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.,The Hebrew University School of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel.,Herman Dana Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Naama Constantini
- The Hebrew University School of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel.,Heidi Rothberg Sport Medicine Center, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
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Gumbs MCR, Vuuregge AH, Eggels L, Unmehopa UA, Lamuadni K, Mul JD, la Fleur SE. Afferent neuropeptide Y projections to the ventral tegmental area in normal-weight male Wistar rats. J Comp Neurol 2019; 527:2659-2674. [PMID: 30950054 PMCID: PMC6767444 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Accepted: 04/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The hypothalamic neuropeptide Y (NPY) circuitry is a key regulator of feeding behavior. NPY also acts in the mesolimbic dopaminergic circuitry, where it can increase motivational aspects of feeding behavior through effects on dopamine output in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and on neurotransmission in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Endogenous NPY in the NAc originates from local interneurons and afferent projections from the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (Arc). However, the origin of endogenous NPY in the VTA is unknown. We determined, in normal‐weight male Wistar rats, if the source of VTA NPY is local, and/or whether it is derived from VTA‐projecting neurons. Immunocytochemistry, in situ hybridization and RT‐qPCR were utilized, when appropriate in combination with colchicine treatment or 24 hr fasting, to assess NPY/Npy expression locally in the VTA. Retrograde tracing using cholera toxin beta (CTB) in the VTA, fluorescent immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy were used to determine NPY‐immunoreactive afferents to the VTA. NPY in the VTA was observed in fibers, but not following colchicine pretreatment. No NPY‐ or Npy‐expressing cell bodies were observed in the VTA. Fasting for 24 hr, which increased Npy expression in the Arc, failed to induce Npy expression in the VTA. Double‐labeling with CTB and NPY was observed in the Arc and in the ventrolateral medulla. Thus, VTA NPY originates from the hypothalamic Arc and the ventrolateral medulla of the brainstem in normal‐weight male Wistar rats. These afferent connections link hypothalamic and brainstem processing of physiologic state to VTA‐driven motivational behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myrtille C R Gumbs
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism & Laboratory of Endocrinology, Department of Clinical Chemistry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Metabolism and Reward Group, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Anna H Vuuregge
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism & Laboratory of Endocrinology, Department of Clinical Chemistry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Leslie Eggels
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism & Laboratory of Endocrinology, Department of Clinical Chemistry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Metabolism and Reward Group, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Unga A Unmehopa
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism & Laboratory of Endocrinology, Department of Clinical Chemistry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Khalid Lamuadni
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism & Laboratory of Endocrinology, Department of Clinical Chemistry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Joram D Mul
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism & Laboratory of Endocrinology, Department of Clinical Chemistry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Metabolism and Reward Group, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Susanne E la Fleur
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism & Laboratory of Endocrinology, Department of Clinical Chemistry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Metabolism and Reward Group, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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10
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Graïc JM, Corain L, Peruffo A, Cozzi B, Swaab DF. The bovine anterior hypothalamus: Characterization of the vasopressin-oxytocin containing nucleus and changes in relation to sexual differentiation. J Comp Neurol 2018; 526:2898-2917. [PMID: 30255945 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2018] [Revised: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 09/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
In an effort to systematically describe the neurochemical anatomy of the bovine anterior hypothalamus, we used a series of immunocytochemical markers such as acetylcholine esterase (AChE), arginine-vasopressin (AVP), calbindin (Calb), galanin (Gal), neuropeptide-Y (NPY), oxytocin (OXT), somatostatin (SST), and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). We also investigated the potential sex difference present in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and the vasopressin-oxytocin containing nucleus (VON) of six male and six female Bos taurus. Our study revealed that the cytochemical structure of the cattle anterior hypothalamus follows the blueprint of other mammals. The VON, which was never described before in cattle, showed a sex difference with a 33.7% smaller volume and 23.2% fewer magnocellular neurons (approximately 20-30 μm) in the male. The SCN also did show a sex difference in VIP neurons and volume with a 36.1% larger female nucleus with 28.1% more cells. Additionally, we included five heifers with freemartin syndrome as a new animal model relevant to sexual differentiation in the brain. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first freemartin study in relation to the brain. Surprisingly, the SCN of freemartin heifers was 32.5% larger than its control male and female counterparts with 29% more VIP cells. Conversely, the freemartin VON had an intermediary size between male and female. To analyze our data, a classical statistical analysis and a novel multivariate and multi-aspect approach were applied. These findings shed new light on sexual dimorphism in the bovine brain and present this species with freemartins as a valuable animal model in neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Marie Graïc
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy
| | - Livio Corain
- Department of Management and Engineering, University of Padova, Vicenza, Italy
| | - Antonella Peruffo
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy
| | - Bruno Cozzi
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy
| | - Dick F Swaab
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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11
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Crinò A, Fintini D, Bocchini S, Grugni G. Obesity management in Prader-Willi syndrome: current perspectives. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes 2018; 11:579-593. [PMID: 30323638 PMCID: PMC6175547 DOI: 10.2147/dmso.s141352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a complex multisystem disorder due to the absent expression of the paternally active genes in the PWS critical region on chromosome 15 (15q11.2-q13). The syndrome is considered the most common genetic cause of obesity, occurring in 1:10,000-1:30,000 live births. Its main characteristics include neonatal hypotonia, poor feeding, and lack of appetite in infancy, followed by weight gain, lack of satiety, and uncontrolled appetite, frequently after the age of 2-3 years. The clinical picture includes short stature, multiple endocrine abnormalities (hypogonadism, growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor-I axis dysfunction, hypothyroidism, central adrenal insufficiency), dysmorphic features, scoliosis, osteoporosis, mental retardation, and behavioral and psychiatric problems. Subjects with PWS will become severely obese unless their food intake is strictly controlled. Constant and obsessive food seeking behavior can make life very difficult for both the family and caretakers. Prevention of obesity is mandatory in these patients from the first years of life, because once obesity develops it is difficult to maintain the control of food intake. In fact, PWS subjects die prematurely from complications conventionally related to obesity, including diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, sleep apnea, respiratory insufficiency, and cardiovascular disease. The mechanisms underlying hyperphagia in PWS are not completely known, and to date no drugs have proven their efficacy in controlling appetite. Consequently, dietary restriction, physical activity, and behavior management are fundamental in the prevention and management of obesity in PWS. In spite of all available therapeutic tools, however, successful weight loss and maintenance are hardly accomplished. In this context, clinical trials with new drugs have been initiated in order to find new possibilities of a therapy for obesity in these patients. The preliminary results of these studies seem to be encouraging. On the other hand, until well-proven medical treatments are available, bariatric surgery can be taken into consideration, especially in PWS patients with life-threatening comorbidities.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Danilo Fintini
- Endocrinology Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Research Institute, Palidoro, Rome
| | | | - Graziano Grugni
- Division of Auxology, Italian Auxological Institute, Research Institute, Piancavallo, Verbania, Italy
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The art of matching brain tissue from patients and controls for postmortem research. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2018; 150:197-217. [PMID: 29496142 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-63639-3.00015-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The quality of postmortem research depends strongly on a thorough clinical investigation and documentation of the patient's disorder and therapies. In addition, a systematic and professional neuropathologic investigation of both cases and controls is absolutely crucial. In the experience of the Netherlands Brain Bank (NBB), about 20% of clinical neurologic diagnoses, despite being made in first-rate clinics, have to be revised or require an extra diagnosis after a complete and thorough review by the NBB. The neuropathology examination may reveal for instance that the "controls" already have preclinical neurodegenerative alterations. In postmortem studies the patient and control groups must be matched for as many of the known confounding factors as possible. This is necessary to make the groups as similar as possible, except for the topic being investigated. Confounding factors are present before, during, and after death. They are respectively: (1) genetic background, systemic diseases, duration and gravity of illness, medicines and addictive compounds used, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, circadian and seasonal fluctuations, lateralization; (2) agonal state, stress of dying; and (3) postmortem delay, freezing procedures, fixation and storage time. Consequently, a brain bank should have a large number of controls at its disposal for appropriate matching. If matching fails for some confounders, then their influence may be determined by statistical methods such as analysis of variance or regression models.
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Lu J, Zhao J, Balesar R, Fronczek R, Zhu QB, Wu XY, Hu SH, Bao AM, Swaab DF. Sexually Dimorphic Changes of Hypocretin (Orexin) in Depression. EBioMedicine 2017; 18:311-319. [PMID: 28377228 PMCID: PMC5405188 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2017.03.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2016] [Revised: 03/27/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Neurophysiological and behavioral processes regulated by hypocretin (orexin) are severely affected in depression. However, alterations in hypocretin have so far not been studied in the human brain. We explored the hypocretin system changes in the hypothalamus and cortex in depression from male and female subjects. Methods We quantified the differences between depression patients and well-matched controls, in terms of hypothalamic hypocretin-1 immunoreactivity (ir) and hypocretin receptors (Hcrtr-receptors)-mRNA in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In addition, we determined the alterations in the hypocretin system in a frequently used model for depression, the chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) rat. Results i) Compared to control subjects, the amount of hypocretin-immunoreactivity (ir) was significantly increased in female but not in male depression patients; ii) hypothalamic hypocretin-ir showed a clear diurnal fluctuation, which was absent in depression; iii) male depressive patients who had committed suicide showed significantly increased ACC Hcrt-receptor-2-mRNA expression compared to male controls; and iv) female but not male CUMS rats showed a highly significant positive correlation between the mRNA levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone and prepro-hypocretin in the hypothalamus, and a significantly increased Hcrt-receptor-1-mRNA expression in the frontal cortex compared to female control rats. Conclusions The clear sex-related change found in the hypothalamic hypocretin-1-ir in depression should be taken into account in the development of hypocretin-targeted therapeutic strategies. Hypocretin (orexin) changes were studied in human postmortem brain in depression. A clear sex-related change was found in the hypothalamic hypocretin-1-immunoreactivity in depression. A rat depression model did not reflect the changes in the hypocretin system in the human brain in depression.
The stress systems of depressed patients are put into a higher gear by genetic and developmental factors. Over-reaction of these systems to stressful environmental situations makes people vulnerable to depression and suicide. This is the first postmortem study on changes in a relatively novel stress system in depression, consisting of the hypothalamic hypocretin neurons and hypocretin receptors in the prefrontal cortex. A clear sex-related change was found in the hypothalamic hypocretin-1-immunoreactivity in depression. Evaluation of the hypocretin system in a frequently used depression animal model, i.e. chronic unpredictable mild stress rats, did not replicate changes found in the hypocretin systems in the human brain in depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Lu
- Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, PR China; Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Department of Psychiatry, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine
| | - Juan Zhao
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Rawien Balesar
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Rolf Fronczek
- Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Qiong-Bin Zhu
- Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, PR China
| | - Xue-Yan Wu
- Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, PR China
| | - Shao-Hua Hu
- Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, PR China; Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Department of Psychiatry, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine
| | - Ai-Min Bao
- Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, PR China.
| | - Dick F Swaab
- Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, PR China; Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Agrp neuron activity is required for alcohol-induced overeating. Nat Commun 2017; 8:14014. [PMID: 28072397 PMCID: PMC5234092 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2015] [Accepted: 11/22/2016] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Alcohol intake associates with overeating in humans. This overeating is a clinical concern, but its causes are puzzling, because alcohol (ethanol) is a calorie-dense nutrient, and calorie intake usually suppresses brain appetite signals. The biological factors necessary for ethanol-induced overeating remain unclear, and societal causes have been proposed. Here we show that core elements of the brain's feeding circuits-the hypothalamic Agrp neurons that are normally activated by starvation and evoke intense hunger-display electrical and biochemical hyperactivity on exposure to dietary doses of ethanol in brain slices. Furthermore, by circuit-specific chemogenetic interference in vivo, we find that the Agrp cell activity is essential for ethanol-induced overeating in the absence of societal factors, in single-housed mice. These data reveal how a widely consumed nutrient can paradoxically sustain brain starvation signals, and identify a biological factor required for appetite evoked by alcohol.
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Botelho M, Cavadas C. Neuropeptide Y: An Anti-Aging Player? Trends Neurosci 2016; 38:701-711. [PMID: 26549884 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2015.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2015] [Revised: 08/27/2015] [Accepted: 08/28/2015] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that neuropeptide Y (NPY) has a role in aging and lifespan determination. In this review, we critically discuss age-related changes in NPY levels in the brain, together with recent findings concerning the contribution of NPY to, and impact on, six hallmarks of aging, specifically: loss of proteostasis, stem cell exhaustion, altered intercellular communication, deregulated nutrient sensing, cellular senescence, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Understanding how NPY contributes to, and counteracts, these hallmarks of aging will open new avenues of research on limiting damage related to aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Botelho
- CNC - Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Cláudia Cavadas
- CNC - Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
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Qiu B, Bell RL, Cao Y, Zhang L, Stewart RB, Graves T, Lumeng L, Yong W, Liang T. Npy deletion in an alcohol non-preferring rat model elicits differential effects on alcohol consumption and body weight. J Genet Genomics 2016; 43:421-30. [PMID: 27461754 PMCID: PMC5055068 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgg.2016.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2015] [Revised: 04/21/2016] [Accepted: 04/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is widely expressed in the central nervous system and influences many physiological processes. It is located within the rat quantitative trait locus (QTL) for alcohol preference on chromosome 4. Alcohol-nonpreferring (NP) rats consume very little alcohol, but have significantly higher NPY expression in the brain than alcohol-preferring (P) rats. We capitalized on this phenotypic difference by creating an Npy knockout (KO) rat using the inbred NP background to evaluate NPY effects on alcohol consumption. Zinc finger nuclease (ZNF) technology was applied, resulting in a 26-bp deletion in the Npy gene. RT-PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry confirmed the absence of Npy mRNA and protein in KO rats. Alcohol consumption was increased in Npy(+/-) but not Npy(-/-) rats, while Npy(-/-) rats displayed significantly lower body weight when compared to Npy(+/+) rats. In whole brain tissue, expression levels of Npy-related and other alcohol-associated genes, Npy1r, Npy2r, Npy5r, Agrp, Mc3r, Mc4r, Crh and Crh1r, were significantly greater in Npy(-/-) rats, whereas Pomc and Crhr2 expressions were highest in Npy(+/-) rats. These findings suggest that the NPY-system works in close coordination with the melanocortin (MC) and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) systems to modulate alcohol intake and body weight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Qiu
- Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
| | - Richard L Bell
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Yong Cao
- Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China; Experimental Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sichuan Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
| | - Lingling Zhang
- Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
| | - Robert B Stewart
- Department of Psychology, Purdue School of Science, Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Tamara Graves
- Department of Gastroenterology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Lawrence Lumeng
- Department of Gastroenterology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Weidong Yong
- Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
| | - Tiebing Liang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
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Maillard J, Park S, Croizier S, Vanacker C, Cook JH, Prevot V, Tauber M, Bouret SG. Loss of Magel2 impairs the development of hypothalamic Anorexigenic circuits. Hum Mol Genet 2016; 25:3208-3215. [PMID: 27288456 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddw169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2016] [Revised: 04/26/2016] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder characterized by a variety of physiological and behavioral dysregulations, including hyperphagia, a condition that can lead to life-threatening obesity. Feeding behavior is a highly complex process with multiple feedback loops that involve both peripheral and central systems. The arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARH) is critical for the regulation of homeostatic processes including feeding, and this nucleus develops during neonatal life under of the influence of both environmental and genetic factors. Although much attention has focused on the metabolic and behavioral outcomes of PWS, an understanding of its effects on the development of hypothalamic circuits remains elusive. Here, we show that mice lacking Magel2, one of the genes responsible for the etiology of PWS, display an abnormal development of ARH axonal projections. Notably, the density of anorexigenic α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone axons was reduced in adult Magel2-null mice, while the density of orexigenic agouti-related peptide fibers in the mutant mice appeared identical to that in control mice. On the basis of previous findings showing a pivotal role for metabolic hormones in hypothalamic development, we also measured leptin and ghrelin levels in Magel2-null and control neonates and found that mutant mice have normal leptin and ghrelin levels. In vitro experiments show that Magel2 directly promotes axon growth. Together, these findings suggest that a loss of Magel2 leads to the disruption of hypothalamic feeding circuits, an effect that appears to be independent of the neurodevelopmental effects of leptin and ghrelin and likely involves a direct neurotrophic effect of Magel2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Maillard
- The Saban Research Institute, Developmental Neuroscience Program, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Department of Pediatrics, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA.,Inserm, Jean-Pierre Aubert Research Center, U1172, University Lille 2, Lille 59045, France
| | - Soyoung Park
- The Saban Research Institute, Developmental Neuroscience Program, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Department of Pediatrics, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA
| | - Sophie Croizier
- The Saban Research Institute, Developmental Neuroscience Program, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Department of Pediatrics, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA
| | - Charlotte Vanacker
- Inserm, Jean-Pierre Aubert Research Center, U1172, University Lille 2, Lille 59045, France
| | - Joshua H Cook
- The Saban Research Institute, Developmental Neuroscience Program, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Department of Pediatrics, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA
| | - Vincent Prevot
- Inserm, Jean-Pierre Aubert Research Center, U1172, University Lille 2, Lille 59045, France
| | | | - Sebastien G Bouret
- The Saban Research Institute, Developmental Neuroscience Program, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Department of Pediatrics, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA .,Inserm, Jean-Pierre Aubert Research Center, U1172, University Lille 2, Lille 59045, France
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Taziaux M, Staphorsius AS, Ghatei MA, Bloom SR, Swaab DF, Bakker J. Kisspeptin Expression in the Human Infundibular Nucleus in Relation to Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2016; 101:2380-9. [PMID: 27046106 DOI: 10.1210/jc.2015-4175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/13/2023]
Abstract
CONTEXT Since the discovery of its central role in reproduction, our functional neuroanatomical knowledge of the hypothalamic kisspeptin system is predominantly based on animal studies. Although sex differences in kisspeptin expression have been shown in humans in adulthood, the developmental origin of this sex difference is unknown. OBJECTIVES Our objectives were to determine the following: 1) when during development the sex difference in kisspeptin expression in the infundibular nucleus would emerge and 2) whether this sex difference is related to sexual orientation or transsexuality. DESIGN AND SETTING Postmortem hypothalamic tissues were collected by The Netherlands Brain Bank, and sections were stained for kisspeptin by immunohistochemistry. PATIENTS Hypothalami of 43 control subjects were categorized into three periods: infant/prepubertal (six girls, seven boys), adult (11 women, seven men), and elderly (six aged women, six aged men). Eight male-to-female (MTF) transsexuals, three HIV(+) heterosexual men, and five HIV(+) homosexual men were also analyzed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE We estimated the total number of kisspeptin-immunoreactive neurons within the infundibular nucleus. RESULTS Quantitative analysis confirmed that the human infundibular kisspeptin system exhibits a female-dominant sex difference. The number of kisspeptin neurons is significantly greater in the infant/prepubertal and elderly periods compared with the adult period. Finally, in MTF transsexuals, but not homosexual men, a female-typical kisspeptin expression was observed. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that infundibular kisspeptin neurons are sensitive to circulating sex steroid hormones throughout life and that the sex reversal observed in MTF transsexuals might reflect, at least partially, an atypical brain sexual differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Taziaux
- Groupe Interdisciplinaire de Génoprotéomique Appliquée Neurosciences (M.T., J.B.), University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium; Neuroendocrinology Laboratory (A.S.S., J.B.) and Neuropsychiatric Disorder Laboratory (D.F.S.), Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and Department of Investigative Medicine (M.A.G., S.R.B.), Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom
| | - Annemieke S Staphorsius
- Groupe Interdisciplinaire de Génoprotéomique Appliquée Neurosciences (M.T., J.B.), University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium; Neuroendocrinology Laboratory (A.S.S., J.B.) and Neuropsychiatric Disorder Laboratory (D.F.S.), Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and Department of Investigative Medicine (M.A.G., S.R.B.), Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom
| | - Mohammad A Ghatei
- Groupe Interdisciplinaire de Génoprotéomique Appliquée Neurosciences (M.T., J.B.), University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium; Neuroendocrinology Laboratory (A.S.S., J.B.) and Neuropsychiatric Disorder Laboratory (D.F.S.), Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and Department of Investigative Medicine (M.A.G., S.R.B.), Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen R Bloom
- Groupe Interdisciplinaire de Génoprotéomique Appliquée Neurosciences (M.T., J.B.), University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium; Neuroendocrinology Laboratory (A.S.S., J.B.) and Neuropsychiatric Disorder Laboratory (D.F.S.), Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and Department of Investigative Medicine (M.A.G., S.R.B.), Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom
| | - Dick F Swaab
- Groupe Interdisciplinaire de Génoprotéomique Appliquée Neurosciences (M.T., J.B.), University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium; Neuroendocrinology Laboratory (A.S.S., J.B.) and Neuropsychiatric Disorder Laboratory (D.F.S.), Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and Department of Investigative Medicine (M.A.G., S.R.B.), Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom
| | - Julie Bakker
- Groupe Interdisciplinaire de Génoprotéomique Appliquée Neurosciences (M.T., J.B.), University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium; Neuroendocrinology Laboratory (A.S.S., J.B.) and Neuropsychiatric Disorder Laboratory (D.F.S.), Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and Department of Investigative Medicine (M.A.G., S.R.B.), Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom
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Ruegsegger GN, Speichinger KR, Manier JB, Younger KM, Childs TE, Booth FW. Hypothalamic Npy mRNA is correlated with increased wheel running and decreased body fat in calorie-restricted rats. Neurosci Lett 2016; 618:83-88. [PMID: 26921453 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2016.02.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2015] [Revised: 02/04/2016] [Accepted: 02/21/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The neuro-molecular mechanisms that regulate the relationship between physical activity level, energy homeostasis regulation, and body fat are unclear. Thus, we aimed to investigate the relationship between mRNAs in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC) related to energy homeostasis, wheel running distance, and body fat in ad lib (AL) and calorie-restricted (CR) growing rats. We hypothesized that changes in select mRNAs (Pomc, Cart, Agrp, Npy, Lepr, Insr, Mc4r, Ampk, Sirt1, Sirt3) in CR would be associated with decreases in body fat percentage and increased wheel running behavior. Male Wistar rats were given access to voluntary running wheels at 4 weeks of age and randomized into AL (n=8) and CR (70% of AL; n=7) groups at 5 weeks of age until study termination at 12 weeks of age. Body composition, serum leptin, insulin, and adiponectin, and ARC mRNA expression in AL and CR rats were assessed and correlated with week-12 running distance to examine potential relationships that may exist. By 12 weeks of age, wheel running was increased ∼3.3-fold (p=0.03) while body fat percentage was ∼2-fold lower in CR compared to AL (p=0.001). Compared to AL, ARC Npy mRNA expression was ∼2-fold greater in CR (p=0.02), while Lepr, Insr, Ampk, and Sirt1 mRNA were additionally increased in CR (p<0.05). Significant correlations existed between ARC Npy mRNA levels versus week-12 wheel running distance (r=0.81, p=0.03), body fat (r=-0.93, p<0.01), and between body fat and wheel running (r=-0.83, p=0.02) in CR, but not in AL. These results reveal possible mechanisms by which fat-brain crosstalk may influence physical activity during energy deficit. These data suggest that below a 'threshold' fat content, body fat may drive activity levels, potentially through hypothalamic Npy action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory N Ruegsegger
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Katherine R Speichinger
- Department of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Jacob B Manier
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Kyle M Younger
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Thomas E Childs
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Frank W Booth
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; Department of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
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Han J. Rare Syndromes and Common Variants of the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Gene in Human Obesity. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2016; 140:75-95. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2015.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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Puzzle Pieces: Neural Structure and Function in Prader-Willi Syndrome. Diseases 2015; 3:382-415. [PMID: 28943631 PMCID: PMC5548261 DOI: 10.3390/diseases3040382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2015] [Revised: 12/04/2015] [Accepted: 12/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder of genomic imprinting, presenting with a behavioural phenotype encompassing hyperphagia, intellectual disability, social and behavioural difficulties, and propensity to psychiatric illness. Research has tended to focus on the cognitive and behavioural investigation of these features, and, with the exception of eating behaviour, the neural physiology is currently less well understood. A systematic review was undertaken to explore findings relating to neural structure and function in PWS, using search terms designed to encompass all published articles concerning both in vivo and post-mortem studies of neural structure and function in PWS. This supported the general paucity of research in this area, with many articles reporting case studies and qualitative descriptions or focusing solely on the overeating behaviour, although a number of systematic investigations were also identified. Research to date implicates a combination of subcortical and higher order structures in PWS, including those involved in processing reward, motivation, affect and higher order cognitive functions, with both anatomical and functional investigations indicating abnormalities. It appears likely that PWS involves aberrant activity across distributed neural networks. The characterisation of neural structure and function warrants both replication and further systematic study.
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Griggs JL, Sinnayah P, Mathai ML. Prader–Willi syndrome: From genetics to behaviour, with special focus on appetite treatments. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2015; 59:155-72. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2015] [Revised: 09/30/2015] [Accepted: 10/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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Ni RJ, Shu YM, Luo PH, Fang H, Wang Y, Yao L, Zhou JN. Immunohistochemical mapping of neuropeptide Y in the tree shrew brain. J Comp Neurol 2014; 523:495-529. [PMID: 25327585 DOI: 10.1002/cne.23696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2014] [Revised: 10/12/2014] [Accepted: 10/14/2014] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Day-active tree shrews are promising animals as research models for a variety of human disorders. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) modulates many behaviors in vertebrates. Here we examined the distribution of NPY in the brain of tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) using immunohistochemical techniques. The differential distribution of NPY-immunoreactive (-ir) cells and fibers were observed in the rhinencephalon, telencephalon, diencephalon, mesencephalon, metencephalon, and myelencephalon of tree shrews. Most NPY-ir cells were multipolar or bipolar in shape with triangular, fusiform, and/or globular perikarya. The densest cluster of NPY-ir cells were found in the mitral cell layer of the main olfactory bulb (MOB), arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus, and pretectal nucleus of the thalamus. The MOB presented a unique pattern of NPY immunoreactivity. Laminar distribution of NPY-ir cells was observed in the MOB, neocortex, and hippocampus. Compared to rats, the tree shrews exhibited a particularly robust and widespread distribution of NPY-ir cells in the MOB, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and amygdala as well as the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus and pretectal nucleus of the thalamus. By contrast, a low density of neurons were scattered in the striatum, neocortex, polymorph cell layer of the dentate gyrus, superior colliculus, inferior colliculus, and dorsal tegmental nucleus. These findings provide the first detailed mapping of NPY immunoreactivity in the tree shrew brain and demonstrate species differences in the distribution of this neuropeptide, providing an anatomical basis for the participation of the NPY system in the regulation of numerous physiological and behavioral processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong-Jun Ni
- Chinese Academy of Science Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Diseases, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027, Anhui, P.R. China
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Borgers AJ, Koopman KE, Bisschop PH, Serlie MJ, Swaab DF, Fliers E, la Fleur SE, Alkemade A. Decreased serotonin transporter immunoreactivity in the human hypothalamic infundibular nucleus of overweight subjects. Front Neurosci 2014; 8:106. [PMID: 24860418 PMCID: PMC4030197 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2014.00106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2014] [Accepted: 04/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Context: That serotonin plays a role in the regulation of feeding behavior and energy metabolism has been known for a long time. Serotonin transporters (SERT) play a crucial role in serotonin signaling by regulating its availability in the synaptic cleft. The neuroanatomy underlying serotonergic signaling in humans is largely unknown, and until now, SERT immunoreactivity in relation to body weight has not been investigated. Objective: To clarify the distribution of SERT immunoreactivity throughout the human hypothalamus and to compare SERT immunoreactivity in the infundibular nucleus (IFN), the human equivalent of the arcuate nucleus, in lean and overweight subjects. Design: First, we investigated the distribution of serotonin transporters (SERT) over the rostro-caudal axis of six post-mortem hypothalami by means of immunohistochemistry. Second, we estimated SERT immunoreactivity in the IFN of lean and overweight subjects. Lastly, double-labeling of SERT with Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and melanocortin cell populations was performed to further identify cells showing basket-like SERT staining. Results: SERT-immunoreactivity was ubiquitously expressed in fibers throughout the hypothalamus and was the strongest in the IFN. Immunoreactivity in the IFN was lower in overweight subjects (p = 0.036). Basket-like staining in the IFN was highly suggestive of synaptic innervation. A very small minority of cells showed SERT double labeling with NPY, agouti-related protein and α–melanocyte stimulating hormone. Conclusions: SERT is ubiquitously expressed in the human hypothalamus. Strong SERT immunoreactivity, was observed in the IFN a region important for appetite regulation, in combination with lower SERT immunoreactivity in the IFN of overweight and obese subjects, may point toward a role for hypothalamic SERT in human obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anke J Borgers
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Karin E Koopman
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Peter H Bisschop
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Mireille J Serlie
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Dick F Swaab
- Department of Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, An Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Eric Fliers
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Susanne E la Fleur
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Anneke Alkemade
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands ; Cognitive Science Center Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Bisschop PH, Dekker MJHJ, Osterthun W, Kwakkel J, Anink JJ, Boelen A, Unmehopa UA, Koper JW, Lamberts SWJ, Stewart PM, Swaab DF, Fliers E. Expression of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 in the human hypothalamus. J Neuroendocrinol 2013; 25:425-32. [PMID: 23286317 DOI: 10.1111/jne.12017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2012] [Revised: 12/14/2012] [Accepted: 12/20/2012] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The hypothalamus is a major target for glucocorticoids and a key structure for hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis setpoint regulation. The enzyme 11β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11βHSD1) modulates glucocorticoid signalling in various tissues at the prereceptor level by converting biologically inactive cortisone to its active form cortisol. The present study aimed to assess 11βHSD1 expression in the human hypothalamus. We studied 11βHSD1 expression in five frozen and four formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded human hypothalami (obtained from the Netherlands Brain Bank) by the polymerase chain reaction and immunocytochemistry, respectively. 11βHSD1 mRNA was expressed in the area of the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which is the biological clock of the brain, in the supraoptic nucleus and paraventricular nucleus (PVN), and in the infundibular nucleus, which is the human homologue of the rodent arcuate nucleus. 11βHSD1 was detected by immunocytochemistry in the same nuclei. In the PVN, neuronal 11βHSD1 immunoreactivity colocalised with corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), arginine vasopressin and oxytocin, as shown by dual fluorescence staining. Our data demonstrate that 11βHSD1 is widely expressed in the human hypothalamus. Its colocalisation with CRH in the PVN suggests a role in modulation of glucocorticoid feedback of the HPA axis, whereas the expression of 11βHSD1 in additional and functionally diverse hypothalamic nuclei points to a role for the enzyme in the regulation of metabolism, appetite and circadian rhythms.
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Affiliation(s)
- P H Bisschop
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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26
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Taziaux M, Swaab DF, Bakker J. Sex differences in the neurokinin B system in the human infundibular nucleus. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2012; 97:E2210-20. [PMID: 23019350 DOI: 10.1210/jc.2012-1554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
CONTEXT The recent report that loss-of-function mutations in either the gene encoding neurokinin B (NKB) or its receptor (NK3R) produce gonadotropin deficiencies in humans strongly points to NKB as a key regulator of GnRH release. OBJECTIVES We used NKB immunohistochemistry on postmortem human brain tissue to determine: 1) whether the human NKB system in the infundibular nucleus (INF) is sexually dimorphic; 2) at what stage in development the infundibular NKB system would diverge between men and women; 3) whether this putative structural difference is reversed in male-to-female (MtF) transsexual people; and 4) whether menopause is accompanied by changes in infundibular NKB immunoreactivity. METHODS NKB immunohistochemical staining was performed on postmortem hypothalamus material of both sexes from the infant/pubertal period into the elderly period and from MtF transsexuals. RESULTS Quantitative analysis demonstrated that the human NKB system exhibits a robust female-dominant sexual dimorphism in the INF. During the first years after birth, both sexes displayed a moderate and equivalent level of NKB immunoreactivity in the INF. The adult features emerged progressively around puberty until adulthood, where the female-dominant sex difference appeared and continued into old age. In MtF transsexuals, a female-typical NKB immunoreactivity was observed. Finally, in postmenopausal women, there was a significant increase in NKB immunoreactivity compared to premenopausal women. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that certain sex differences do not emerge until adulthood when activated by sex steroid hormones and the likely involvement of the human infundibular NKB system in the negative and positive feedback of estrogen on GnRH secretion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Taziaux
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Neuroendocrinology Laboratory, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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27
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Saderi N, Salgado-Delgado R, Avendaño-Pradel R, Basualdo MDC, Ferri GL, Chávez-Macías L, Roblera JEO, Escobar C, Buijs RM. NPY and VGF immunoreactivity increased in the arcuate nucleus, but decreased in the nucleus of the Tractus Solitarius, of type-II diabetic patients. PLoS One 2012; 7:e40070. [PMID: 22808091 PMCID: PMC3394787 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0040070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2012] [Accepted: 05/31/2012] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Ample animal studies demonstrate that neuropeptides NPY and α-MSH expressed in Arcuate Nucleus and Nucleus of the Tractus Solitarius, modulate glucose homeostasis and food intake. In contrast is the absence of data validating these observations for human disease. Here we compare the post mortem immunoreactivity of the metabolic neuropeptides NPY, αMSH and VGF in the infundibular nucleus, and brainstem of 11 type-2 diabetic and 11 non-diabetic individuals. α-MSH, NPY and tyrosine hydroxylase in human brain are localized in the same areas as in rodent brain. The similar distribution of NPY, α-MSH and VGF indicated that these neurons in the human brain may share similar functionality as in the rodent brain. The number of NPY and VGF immuno positive cells was increased in the infundibular nucleus of diabetic subjects in comparison to non-diabetic controls. In contrast, NPY and VGF were down regulated in the Nucleus of the Tractus Solitarius of diabetic patients. These results suggest an activation of NPY producing neurons in the arcuate nucleus, which, according to animal experimental studies, is related to a catabolic state and might be the basis for increased hepatic glucose production in type-2 diabetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadia Saderi
- Dept. de Biologia Celular y Fisiologia, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomedicas, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
- NEF-Lab, Dept. Cytomorphology, University of Cagliari, Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | - Roberto Salgado-Delgado
- Dept. de Biologia Celular y Fisiologia, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomedicas, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
- Facultad de Ciencias, UASLP, San Luis Potosì, Mexico
| | | | - Maria del Carmen Basualdo
- Dept. de Biologia Celular y Fisiologia, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomedicas, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Gian-Luca Ferri
- NEF-Lab, Dept. Cytomorphology, University of Cagliari, Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | | | | | - Carolina Escobar
- Dept. de Anatomia, Facultad de Medicina, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Ruud M. Buijs
- Dept. de Biologia Celular y Fisiologia, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomedicas, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
- * E-mail:
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28
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Alkemade A, Yi CX, Pei L, Harakalova M, Swaab DF, la Fleur SE, Fliers E, Kalsbeek A. AgRP and NPY expression in the human hypothalamic infundibular nucleus correlate with body mass index, whereas changes in αMSH are related to type 2 diabetes. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2012; 97:E925-33. [PMID: 22492775 DOI: 10.1210/jc.2011-3259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
CONTEXT Rodent data show that altered hypothalamic signaling contributes to the development of obesity and insulin resistance. OBJECTIVE To determine differences in hypothalamic expression levels of neuropeptide Y (NPY), agouti-related peptide (AgRP), and αMSH in the infundibular nucleus, the human equivalent of the arcuate nucleus, in relation to body mass index (BMI). In addition, the expression in the infundibular nucleus of eight subjects diagnosed with type 2 diabetes was measured to determine possible interference of type 2 diabetes with the association observed between neuropeptides and BMI. DESIGN We studied AgRP, NPY, and αMSH expression by means of quantitative immunocytochemistry in postmortem hypothalami of 30 subjects with known BMI. In separate experiments, we compared neuropeptide expression in eight subjects with type 2 diabetes with eight matched controls. RESULTS We found that AgRP immunoreactivity showed a U-shaped correlation with BMI. No evidence was found for possible influences of corticosteroid treatment. NPY immunoreactivity was significantly lower in overweight and obese subjects. αMSH did not correlate with BMI but was significantly lower in subjects with type 2 diabetes compared with controls. By contrast, NPY and AgRP expression was not affected in type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that the expression of AgRP and NPY are correlated with body weight changes, rather than the presence of type 2 diabetes, whereas changes in αMSH immunoreactivity are related to the presence of type 2 diabetes, indicating separate hypothalamic mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anneke Alkemade
- Alan Turing Institute Almere, Louis Armstrongweg 84, 1311 RL Almere, The Netherlands.
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29
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Alkemade A, Unmehopa UA, Hessel EVS, Swaab DF, Kalsbeek A, Fliers E. Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 in the human hypothalamus. Peptides 2012; 35:139-42. [PMID: 22425648 DOI: 10.1016/j.peptides.2012.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2012] [Revised: 03/07/2012] [Accepted: 03/07/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
In rodents, the mediobasal hypothalamus and the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) are implicated in leptin signaling. Surprisingly little data is available on the human hypothalamus. We set out to study the expression of suppressor-of-cytokine-signaling 3 (SOCS3), α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (αMSH) and agouti-related protein (AgRP) in the infundibular nucleus (IFN) and to investigate the relationship between these neuropeptide expressions and serum leptin concentrations in a blood sample taken within 24h before death. We studied post-mortem human brain material by means of quantitative immunocytochemistry. We found that SOCS3 immunoreactivity was widely distributed throughout the hypothalamus, and most prominent in the PVN, whereas expression levels in the IFN were low. Surprisingly, SOCS3 expression in the PVN was inversely related to serum leptin. A significant positive correlation was observed between AgRP and NPY expression in the IFN. The inverse correlation between SOCS3 expression in the PVN and serum leptin was unexpected and may be related to the hypothalamic adaptation to fatal illness rather than to nutritional status, or may represent an interspecies difference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anneke Alkemade
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, An Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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30
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Bartness TJ, Keen-Rhinehart E, Dailey MJ, Teubner BJ. Neural and hormonal control of food hoarding. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2011; 301:R641-55. [PMID: 21653877 DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00137.2011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Many animals hoard food, including humans, but despite its pervasiveness, little is known about the physiological mechanisms underlying this appetitive behavior. We summarize studies of food hoarding in humans and rodents with an emphasis on mechanistic laboratory studies of species where this behavior importantly impacts their energy balance (hamsters), but include laboratory rat studies although their wild counterparts do not hoard food. The photoperiod and cold can affect food hoarding, but food availability is the most significant environmental factor affecting food hoarding. Food-deprived/restricted hamsters and humans exhibit large increases in food hoarding compared with their fed counterparts, both doing so without overeating. Some of the peripheral and central peptides involved in food intake also affect food hoarding, although many have not been tested. Ad libitum-fed hamsters given systemic injections of ghrelin, the peripheral orexigenic hormone that increases with fasting, mimics food deprivation-induced increases in food hoarding. Neuropeptide Y or agouti-related protein, brain peptides stimulated by ghrelin, given centrally to ad libitum-fed hamsters, duplicates the early and prolonged postfood deprivation increases in food hoarding, whereas central melanocortin receptor agonism tends to inhibit food deprivation and ghrelin stimulation of hoarding. Central or peripheral leptin injection or peripheral cholecystokinin-33, known satiety peptides, inhibit food hoarding. Food hoarding markedly increases with pregnancy and lactation. Because fasted and/or obese humans hoard more food in general, and more high-density/high-fat foods specifically, than nonfasted and/or nonobese humans, understanding the mechanisms underlying food hoarding could provide another target for behavioral/pharmacological approaches to curb obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy J Bartness
- Department of Biology, Neurobiology and Behavior Program, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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31
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Fronczek R, van Geest S, Frölich M, Overeem S, Roelandse FWC, Lammers GJ, Swaab DF. Hypocretin (orexin) loss in Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiol Aging 2011; 33:1642-50. [PMID: 21546124 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2011.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 170] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2009] [Revised: 01/11/2011] [Accepted: 03/16/2011] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Sleep disturbances in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients are associated with the severity of dementia and are often the primary reason for institutionalization. These sleep problems partly resemble core symptoms of narcolepsy, a sleep disorder caused by a general loss of the neurotransmitter hypocretin. AD is a neurodegenerative disorder targeting different brain areas and types of neurons. In this study, we assessed whether the neurodegenerative process of AD also affects hypothalamic hypocretin/orexin neurons. The total number of hypocretin-1 immunoreactive neurons was quantified in postmortem hypothalami of AD patients (n = 10) and matched controls (n = 10). In addition, the hypocretin-1 concentration was measured in postmortem ventricular cerebrospinal fluid of 24 AD patients and 25 controls (including the patients and controls in which the hypothalamic cell counts were performed). The number of hypocretin-1 immunoreactive neurons was significantly decreased by 40% in AD patients (median [25th-75th percentiles]); AD 12,935 neurons (9972-19,051); controls 21,002 neurons (16,439-25,765); p = 0.049). Lower cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) hypocretin-1 levels were found in AD patients compared with controls (AD: 275 pg/mL [197-317]; controls: 320 pg/mL [262-363]; p = 0.038). Two AD patients with documented excessive daytime sleepiness showed the lowest CSF hypocretin-1 concentrations (55 pg/mL and 76 pg/mL). We conclude that the hypocretin system is affected in advanced AD. This is reflected in a 40% decreased cell number, and 14% lower CSF hypocretin-1 levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rolf Fronczek
- Netherlands Institute for Neurosciences, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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32
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Han JC, Muehlbauer MJ, Cui HN, Newgard CB, Haqq AM. Lower brain-derived neurotrophic factor in patients with prader-willi syndrome compared to obese and lean control subjects. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2010; 95:3532-6. [PMID: 20427492 PMCID: PMC2928902 DOI: 10.1210/jc.2010-0127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
CONTEXT Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) haploinsufficiency is associated with hyperphagia and obesity in both animals and humans. BDNF appears to function downstream of the leptin-melanocortin signaling pathway to control energy balance. The potential role of BDNF in the etiology of the severe hyperphagia associated with PWS has not been previously explored. OBJECTIVE The aim was to compare BDNF concentrations in subjects with PWS and obese controls (OC) and lean controls (LC). DESIGN AND SETTING We conducted a cross-sectional study at an outpatient clinical research center. PARTICIPANTS We studied 13 subjects with PWS [five females and eight males; mean + or - sd: age, 11.0 + or - 4.1 yr; body mass index (BMI)-Z, 2.05 + or - 0.78], 13 OC (eight females, five males; age, 12.3 + or - 2.7 yr; BMI-Z, 2.18 + or - 0.61), and 13 LC (six females, seven males; age, 12.4 + or - 2.6 yr; BMI-Z, -0.57 + or - 0.73). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE BDNF was measured in serum and plasma by ELISA. Analysis of covariance adjusted for age, sex, and BMI-Z. RESULTS All groups were comparable for age (P = 0.50) and sex distribution (P = 0.49). BMI-Z was comparable between PWS and OC (P = 0.89) and lower in LC (P < 0.001). Adjusted serum BDNF was comparable (P = 0.35) in OC (mean + or - sem: 13.5 + or - 1.2 ng/ml) and LC (19.2 + or - 1.3 ng/ml), but lower in PWS (8.3 + or - 1.2 ng/ml; P = 0.01 vs. OC; P = 0.03 vs. LC). Adjusted plasma BDNF in PWS (217 + or - 130 pg/ml) was lower than OC (422 + or - 126 pg/ml; P = 0.02), but statistically comparable with LC (540 + or - 143 pg/ml; P = 0.10). CONCLUSIONS Lower BDNF in PWS suggests insufficient central BDNF production because BDNF in peripheral circulation is believed to reflect cerebral BDNF output. Decreased BDNF may be a potential cause for the disordered satiety and morbid obesity associated with PWS. Further studies are needed to confirm this preliminary pilot study in a larger cohort of patients with PWS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan C Han
- Unit on Growth and Obesity, Program in Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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33
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Semjonous NM, Smith KL, Parkinson JRC, Gunner DJL, Liu YL, Murphy KG, Ghatei MA, Bloom SR, Small CJ. Coordinated changes in energy intake and expenditure following hypothalamic administration of neuropeptides involved in energy balance. Int J Obes (Lond) 2009; 33:775-85. [PMID: 19488048 PMCID: PMC2711051 DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2009.96] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The hypothalamic control of energy balance is regulated by a complex network of neuropeptide-releasing neurons. Although the effect of these neuropeptides on individual aspects of energy homoeostasis has been studied, the coordinated response of these effects has not been comprehensively investigated. We have simultaneously monitored a number of metabolic parameters following intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of 1 and 3 nmol of neuropeptides with established roles in the regulation of feeding, activity and metabolism. Ad libitum- fed rats received the orexigenic neuropeptides neuropeptide Y (NPY), agouti-related protein (AgRP), melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) or orexin-A. Overnight-food-deprived rats received an ICV injection of the anorectic peptides alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH), corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) or neuromedin U (NMU). RESULTS Our results reveal the temporal sequence of the effects of these neuropeptides on both energy intake and expenditure, highlighting key differences in their function as mediators of energy balance. NPY and AgRP increased feeding and decreased oxygen consumption, with the effects of AgRP being more prolonged. In contrast, orexin-A increased both feeding and oxygen consumption, consistent with an observed increase in activity. The potent anorexigenic effects of CRF were accompanied by a prolonged increase in activity, whereas NMU injection resulted in significant but short-lasting inhibition of food intake, ambulatory activity and oxygen consumption. alpha-MSH injection resulted in significant increases in both ambulatory activity and oxygen consumption, and reduced food intake following administration of 3 nmol of the peptide. CONCLUSION We have for the first time, simultaneously measured several metabolic parameters following hypothalamic administration of a number of neuropeptides within the same experimental system. This work has shown the interrelated effects of these neuropeotides on activity, energy expenditure and food intake, thus facilitating comparison between the different hypothalamic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- N M Semjonous
- Department of Investigative Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
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34
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Aziz A, Fronczek R, Maat-Schieman M, Unmehopa U, Roelandse F, Overeem S, van Duinen S, Lammers GJ, Swaab D, Roos R. Hypocretin and melanin-concentrating hormone in patients with Huntington disease. Brain Pathol 2008; 18:474-83. [PMID: 18498421 DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-3639.2008.00135.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
To evaluate whether hypocretin-1 (orexin-A) and melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) neurotransmission are affected in patients with Huntington disease (HD), we immunohistochemically stained hypocretin and MCH neurons and estimated their total numbers in the lateral hypothalamus of both HD patients and matched controls. In addition, hypocretin-1 levels were determined in prefrontal cortical tissue and post-mortem ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using a radioimmunoassay. The total number of hypocretin-1 neurons was significantly reduced by 30% in HD brains (P = 0.015), while the total number of MCH neurons was not significantly altered (P = 0.100). Levels of hypocretin-1 were 33% lower in the prefrontal cortex of the HD patients (P = 0.025), but ventricular CSF levels were similar to the control values (P = 0.306). Neuronal intranuclear and cytoplasmic inclusions of mutant huntingtin were present in all HD hypothalami, although with a variable distribution across different hypothalamic structures. We found a specific reduction in hypocretin signaling in patients with HD as MCH cell number was not significantly affected. It remains to be shown whether the moderate decrease in hypocretin neurotransmission could contribute to clinical symptoms. As the number of MCH-expressing neurons was not affected, alterations in MCH signaling are unlikely to have clinical effects in HD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad Aziz
- Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands.
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35
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Miller JL, Goldstone AP, Couch JA, Shuster J, He G, Driscoll DJ, Liu Y, Schmalfuss IM. Pituitary abnormalities in Prader–Willi syndrome and early onset morbid obesity. Am J Med Genet A 2008; 146A:570-7. [PMID: 17431897 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.a.31677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a well-defined syndrome of childhood-obesity which can serve as a model for investigating early onset childhood obesity. Many of the clinical features of PWS (e.g., hyperphagia, hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, growth hormone deficiency) are hypothesized to be due to abnormalities of the hypothalamus and/or pituitary gland. Children who become severely obese very early in life (i.e., before age 4 years) may also have a genetic etiology of their obesity, perhaps with associated neuroendocrine and hypothalamo-pituitary defects, as infants and very young children have limited access to environmental factors that contribute to obesity. We hypothesized that morphologic abnormalities of the pituitary gland would be seen in both individuals with PWS and other subjects with early onset morbid obesity (EMO). This case-control study included individuals with PWS (n = 27, age 3 months to 39 years), patients with EMO of unknown etiology (n = 16, age 4-22 years; defined as body mass index greater than the 97th centile for age before age 4 years), and normal weight siblings (n = 25, age 7 months to 43 years) from both groups. Participants had 3-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate the pituitary gland, a complete history and physical examination, and measurement of basal pituitary hormones. Subjects with PWS and EMO had a higher prevalence of pituitary morphological abnormalities than did control subjects (74% PWS, 69% EMO, 8% controls; P < 0.001). Anterior pituitary hormone deficiencies were universal in individuals with PWS (low IGF-1 in 100%, P < 0.001 PWS vs. controls; central hypothyroidism in 19%, P = 0.052, and hypoplastic genitalia or hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in 100%, P < 0.001), and was often seen in individuals with EMO (6%, P = 0.89 vs. control, 31%, P = 0.002, and 25%, P = 0.018, respectively). The presence of a hypoplastic pituitary gland appeared to correlate with the presence of anterior pituitary hormone deficiencies in individuals with EMO, but no correlation was apparent in individuals with PWS. In conclusion, the high frequency of both morphological and hormonal abnormalities of the pituitary gland in both individuals with PWS and EMO suggests that abnormalities in the hypothalamo-pituitary axis are features not only of PWS, but also frequently of EMO of unknown etiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L Miller
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida 32610-0296, USA.
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Nergårdh R, Ammar A, Brodin U, Bergström J, Scheurink A, Södersten P. Neuropeptide Y facilitates activity-based-anorexia. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2007; 32:493-502. [PMID: 17467917 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2007.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2006] [Revised: 03/02/2007] [Accepted: 03/03/2007] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The hypothesis that treatment with neuropeptide Y (NPY) can increase running activity and decrease food intake and body weight was tested. Female rats with a running wheel lost more weight than sedentary rats and ran progressively more as the availability of food was gradually reduced. When food was available for only 1h/day, the rats lost control over body weight. Correlatively, the level of NPY mRNA was increased in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus. This phenomenon, activity-based-anorexia, was enhanced by intracerebroventricular infusion of NPY in rats which had food available during 2h/day. By contrast, NPY stimulated food intake but not wheel running in rats which had food available continuously. These findings are inconsistent with the prevailing theory of the role of the hypothalamus in the regulation of body weight according to which food intake is a homeostatic process controlled by "orexigenic" and "anorexigenic" neural networks. However, the finding that treatment with NPY, generally considered an "orexigen", can increase physical activity and decrease food intake and cause a loss of body weight is in line with the clinical observation that patients with anorexia nervosa are physically hyperactive and eat only little food despite having depleted body fat and up-regulated hypothalamic "orexigenic" peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Nergårdh
- Section of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, S-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
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Södersten P, Bergh C, Zandian M. Psychoneuroendocrinology of anorexia nervosa. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2006; 31:1149-53. [PMID: 17084040 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2006.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2006] [Revised: 09/15/2006] [Accepted: 09/15/2006] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
It is suggested that the symptoms of anorexia nervosa are physiological responses to starvation. There is no evidence of a neural or non-neural dysfunction that predisposes women for anorexia nervosa and the endocrine and psychological consequences of starvation are reversed once patients have re-learnt how to eat and regained a normal body weight. Because variability in the supply of food may be a common evolutionary condition, it is more likely that body weight is variable than constant in normal circumstances. The role of the neuroendocrine system in times of feast and famine is to allow the individual to adopt behavioral strategies as needed rather than maintaining body weight homeostasis. Treatment of anorexic patients should aim at reducing their high level of physical activity in order to facilitate eating.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Södersten
- Section of Applied Neuroendocrinology, Mandometer Clinic, Karolinska Institutet, AB Mando, Novum, S-141 57 Huddinge, Sweden.
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Swaab DF. The human hypothalamus in metabolic and episodic disorders. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2006; 153:3-45. [PMID: 16876566 DOI: 10.1016/s0079-6123(06)53001-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- D F Swaab
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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Goldstone AP. The hypothalamus, hormones, and hunger: alterations in human obesity and illness. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2006; 153:57-73. [PMID: 16876568 DOI: 10.1016/s0079-6123(06)53003-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Obesity is a major global epidemic, with over 300 million obese people worldwide, and nearly 1 billion overweight adults. Being overweight carries significant health risks, reduced quality of life, and impaired socioeconomic success, with profound consequences for health expenditure. The most successful treatment for obesity is gastric bypass surgery, which acts in part by reducing appetite through alterations in gut hormones. Circulating gut hormones, secreted or suppressed after eating food, act in the brain, particularly the hypothalamus, to alter hunger and fullness. Stomach-derived ghrelin increases food intake even in those with anorexia from chronic illness, while pancreatic polypeptide (PP), intestinal peptide YY 3-36 (PYY), oxyntomodulin, and other hormones reduce food intake and appetite. While obese subjects have appropriate reductions in orexigenic ghrelin, other gut-hormone disturbances may contribute to obesity such as reduced anorexigenic PYY and PP. Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) arises from the loss of paternally inherited genes on chromosome 15q11-13, leading to life-threatening insatiable hunger and obesity from early childhood, through developmental brain, particularly hypothalamic defects. The study of genetically homogenous causes of abnormal-feeding behavior helps our understanding of appetite regulation. PWS subjects have inappropriately elevated plasma ghrelin for their obesity, at least partly explained by preserved insulin sensitivity. It remains unproven if their hyperghrelinemia or other gut-hormone abnormalities contribute to the hyperphagia in PWS, in addition to brain defects. Postmortem human hypothalamic studies and generation of animal models of PWS can also provide insight into the pathophysiology of abnormal-feeding behavior. Changes in orexigenic NPY and AGRP hypothalamic neurons, or anorexigenic oxytocin neurons have been found in illness and PWS. Functional neuroimaging studies, using PET and fMRI, will also allow us to tease apart the hormonal and brain pathways responsible for controlling human appetite, and their defects in obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony P Goldstone
- Imaging Sciences Department, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, London W12 0NN, UK.
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Stefan M, Nicholls RD. What have rare genetic syndromes taught us about the pathophysiology of the common forms of obesity? Curr Diab Rep 2004; 4:143-50. [PMID: 15035975 DOI: 10.1007/s11892-004-0070-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Obesity is a central feature for several congenital syndromes, including Prader-Willi, Angelman, Bardet-Biedl, Cohen, Alström, and Börjeson-Forssman-Lehmann syndromes, and Albright's hereditary osteodystrophy. Although a role for the central nervous system, including the hypothalamus-pituitary axis, has been suggested for the etiology of obesity in these syndromes, the pathophysiologic pathways are as yet not well defined, and in many cases may identify currently unknown mechanisms. Nevertheless, many of the causative genes and unusual mechanisms, including parental imprinting of genes and complex patterns of inheritance, have been identified. We review the latest advances in understanding congenital syndromes in which obesity is purely genetic, drawing on comparisons to genetic studies of obesity in the human population as well as to those in experimental and agricultural animal models. An understanding of the genetic basis for these syndromes will provide a more comprehensive picture of the mechanisms that control food intake and energy balance in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mihaela Stefan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Clinical Research Building, Room 528, 415 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6140, USA
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Marguerite Neary
- Department of Metabolic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, Hammersmith Campus, London, UK
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Abstract
Prader-Willi syndrome is a complex genetic disorder with a characteristic cognitive, behavioral, and endocrinologic phenotype. Obesity, partial growth hormone (GH) secretion, and hypogonadism are common. Results of several somatropin (GH therapy) studies in children with Prader-Willi syndrome have shown improvement in growth, body composition, physical strength, and agility. GH deficiency in adults without Prader-Willi syndrome is associated with abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, and an unfavorable lipid profile, and the partial state of GH deficiency seen in Prader-Willi syndrome thus renders these patients exposed to a lifelong risk of metabolic diseases. The nongrowth effects of somatropin in children with Prader-Willi syndrome have directed interest towards adults in preventing long-term consequences of GH deficiency, but the potential impact of somatropin therapy in adults with Prader-Willi syndrome is not known in detail. To date, only one study has been published. In this study, 17 patients (9 men and 8 women) with a mean age of 25 years and a mean body mass index of 35 +/- 3.2 kg/m2 were examined. Eleven had the Prader-Willi syndrome genotype. They were treated with somatropin (Genotropin) for 12 months after an initial placebo-controlled period of 6 months. Compared with placebo, somatropin increased insulin-like growth factor-1 levels (p < 0.01) and decreased body fat (p = 0.04). During the 12-month period with somatropin therapy, the mean reduction in body fat was 2.5% (p < 0.01), concomitant with a mean increase in lean body mass of 2.2kg (p < 0.05). Lipid profiles were normal in most patients before treatment and did not change. The oral glucose tolerance test was impaired in one patient at study start and in five patients at 12 months. No patients developed diabetes mellitus. Furthermore, insulin levels remained unchanged, and estimation of insulin resistance by homeostasis model assessment did not disclose any change. Transient adverse effects attributed to water retention occurred in three patients. In conclusion, the one published study of somatropin therapy in adults with Prader-Willi syndrome showed beneficial effects on body composition without pronounced adverse effects. However, further studies are required to establish the definite role and optimal dosage of somatropin, as well as long-term effects, in adults with Prader-Willi syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Höybye
- Department of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Kruijver FPM, Balesar R, Espila AM, Unmehopa UA, Swaab DF. Estrogen-receptor-? distribution in the human hypothalamus: Similarities and differences with ER? distribution. J Comp Neurol 2003; 466:251-77. [PMID: 14528452 DOI: 10.1002/cne.10899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
This study reports the first systematic rostrocaudal distribution of estrogen receptor beta immunoreactivity (ER beta-ir) in the human hypothalamus and adjacent areas in five males and five females between 20-39 years of age and compares its distribution to previously reported ER alpha in the same patients. ER beta-ir was generally observed more frequently in the cytoplasm than in the nucleus and appeared to be stronger in women. Basket-like fiber stainings, suggestive for ER beta-ir in synaptic terminals, were additionally observed in various areas. Men showed more robust nuclear ER beta-ir than women in the medial part of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, paraventricular and paratenial nucleus of the thalamus, while less intense, but more nuclear, ER beta-ir appeared to be present in, e.g., the BSTc, sexually dimorphic nucleus of the medial preoptic area, diagonal band of Broca and ventromedial nucleus. Women revealed more nuclear ER beta-ir than men of a low to intermediate level, e.g., in the suprachiasmatic, supraoptic, paraventricular, infundibular, and medial mamillary nucleus. These data indicate potential sex differences in ER beta expression. ER beta-ir expression patterns in subjects with abnormal hormone levels suggests that there may be sex differences in ER beta-ir that are "activational" rather than "organizational" in nature. Similarities, differences, potential functional, and clinical implications of the observed ER alpha and ER beta distributions are discussed in relation to reproduction, autonomic-function, mood, cognition, and neuroprotection in health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank P M Kruijver
- Graduate School of Neurosciences, Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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Abstract
The neurodevelopmental disorder, Prader-Willi syndrome, is generally regarded as a genetic model of obesity. Although the values of some hypothalamic neuropeptides are as expected in obesity, and should result in satiety, we propose that abnormal hypothalamic pathways mean that these are ineffective. We postulate that the body incorrectly interprets the absence of satiation as starvation, and therefore, paradoxically, this syndrome should be redefined as one of starvation that manifests as obesity in a food-rich environment. Also, this syndrome is generally believed to be a contiguous gene disorder, which results from the absence of expression of the paternally derived alleles of maternally imprinted genes on chromosome 15 (15q11-13). We argue, however, that the whole phenotype can be explained by one mechanism and, by implication, the failure of expression of the paternal allele of a single maternally imprinted gene that controls energy balance. We suggest clinical and laboratory approaches to test our hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony Holland
- Section of Developmental Psychiatry, Douglas House, CB2 2AH, Cambridge, UK.
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Goldstone AP, Unmehopa UA, Swaab DF. Hypothalamic growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) cell number is increased in human illness, but is not reduced in Prader-Willi syndrome or obesity. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 2003; 58:743-55. [PMID: 12780752 DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2265.2003.01788.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Acute illness leads to increased GH, but reduced IGF-I secretion, while both are reduced in chronic illness. Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic obesity syndrome, with GH deficiency a feature independent of obesity. Reduced GH secretion may result from decreased hypothalamic release of GH-releasing hormone (GHRH). OBJECTIVE To quantify hypothalamic GHRH neurone cell number in control subjects with various lengths of premorbid illness duration, PWS and non-PWS obese subjects. DESIGN We examined GHRH neurones in the infundibular nucleus/median eminence complex of control subjects (n = 26, including four children), PWS (n = 6) and non-PWS (n = 4) obese adults and PWS children (n = 2), by quantitative immunocytochemistry, using postmortem material. RESULTS We found: (i) higher GHRH cell number during prolonged illness prior to death in both control adults (r = +0.62, P = 0.002, cell number vs. premorbid illness duration) and PWS adults (r = +0.90, P = 0.02); (ii) higher GHRH cell number in female than male adults [by 53% (95% confidence interval 28-83%) in controls, P = 0.005, correcting for premorbid illness duration]; (iii) no difference in GHRH cell number between PWS adults and control or non-PWS obese adults (P = 0.7 and P = 0.4, adjusting for sex and illness duration); and (iv) low GHRH cell number in only one PWS child (who had been receiving exogenous GH therapy). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest continued activation of GHRH neurones during prolonged illness. There is no evidence that the GH deficiency in PWS results from reduced GHRH cell number, and GHRH neuronal responses to illness and exogenous GH treatment appear normal in PWS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony P Goldstone
- Graduate School Neurosciences Amsterdam, Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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Abstract
The use of human brain tissue obtained at autopsy for neurochemical, pharmacological and physiological analyses is reviewed. RNA and protein samples have been found suitable for expression profiling by techniques that include RT-PCR, cDNA microarrays, western blotting, immunohistochemistry and proteomics. The rapid development of molecular biological techniques has increased the impetus for this work to be applied to studies of brain disease. It has been shown that most nucleic acids and proteins are reasonably stable post-mortem. However, their abundance and integrity can exhibit marked intra- and intercase variability, making comparisons between case-groups difficult. Variability can reveal important functional and biochemical information. The correct interpretation of neurochemical data must take into account such factors as age, gender, ethnicity, medicative history, immediate ante-mortem status, agonal state and post-mortem and post-autopsy intervals. Here we consider issues associated with the sampling of DNA, RNA and proteins using human autopsy brain tissue in relation to various ante- and post-mortem factors. We conclude that valid and practical measures of a variety of parameters may be made in human brain tissue, provided that specific factors are controlled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew R Hynd
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
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Overeem S, van Vliet JA, Lammers GJ, Zitman FG, Swaab DF, Ferrari MD. The hypothalamus in episodic brain disorders. Lancet Neurol 2002; 1:437-44. [PMID: 12849366 DOI: 10.1016/s1474-4422(02)00191-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Episodic brain disorders (EBD) form an intriguing group of neurological diseases in which at least some of the symptoms occur in attacks. The hypothalamus integrates many brain functions, including endocrine and autonomic control, and governs various body rhythms. It seems a likely site in which the initiation of attacks of EBD can be modulated. Indeed, the hypothalamus has a crucial role in EBD such as narcolepsy and cluster headache. The same may be true for migraine and depression. Here we summarise the evidence supporting an important role for the hypothalamus in the initiation of disease episodes in various EBD. Study of the various pathophysiological concepts of EBD within the context of the hypothalamus may prove a fruitful example of cross-fertilisation between various research areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastiaan Overeem
- Narcolepsy Research Group, Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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