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Leptin's hunger-suppressing effects are mediated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis in rodents
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Leptin's hunger-suppressing effects are mediated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis in rodents

Rachel J Perry, Jon M Resch, Amelia M Douglass, Joseph C Madara, Aviva Rabin-Court, Hakan Kucukdereli, Chen Wu, Joongyu D Song, Bradford B Lowell and Gerald I Shulman
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.116(27), pp.13670-13679
07/02/2019
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1901795116
PMCID: PMC6613139
PMID: 31213533
url
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1901795116View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Leptin informs the brain about sufficiency of fuel stores. When insufficient, leptin levels fall, triggering compensatory increases in appetite. Falling leptin is first sensed by hypothalamic neurons, which then initiate adaptive responses. With regard to hunger, it is thought that leptin-sensing neurons work entirely via circuits within the central nervous system (CNS). Very unexpectedly, however, we now show this is not the case. Instead, stimulation of hunger requires an intervening endocrine step, namely activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis. Increased corticosterone then activates AgRP neurons to fully increase hunger. Importantly, this is true for 2 forms of low leptin-induced hunger, fasting and poorly controlled type 1 diabetes. Hypoglycemia, which also stimulates hunger by activating CNS neurons, albeit independently of leptin, similarly recruits and requires this pathway by which HPA axis activity stimulates AgRP neurons. Thus, HPA axis regulation of AgRP neurons is a previously underappreciated step in homeostatic regulation of hunger.
Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System - drug effects Insulin - pharmacology Receptors, Glucocorticoid - antagonists & inhibitors Pituitary-Adrenal System - drug effects Fasting - physiology Rats Male Eating - physiology Leptin - physiology Animals Leptin - blood Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System - physiology Mifepristone - pharmacology Hunger - physiology Adrenocorticotropic Hormone - blood Pituitary-Adrenal System - physiology

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