Leptin plays an important role in the protection against diet-induced obesity (DIO) by its actions ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) neurons. However, little is known about intracellular mechanisms involved these effects. To assess of STAT3 and ERK2 signaling neurons that express steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1) VMH energy homeostasis, we used cre-lox technology to generate male female mice with spec...

Hypothalamic fatty acid (FA) sensing neurons alter their activity utilizing the FA translocator/receptor, FAT/CD36. Depletion of ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) CD36 with adeno-associated viral vector expressing CD36 shRNA (AAV CD36 shRNA) leads to redistribution of adipose stores and insulin resistance in outbred rats. This study assessed the requirement of VMH CD36-mediated FA sensing for the...

23 Amylin enhances arcuate (ARC) and ventromedial (VMN) hypothalamic nuclei leptin signaling 24 and synergistically reduces food intake and body weight in selectively bred diet-induced obese 25 (DIO) rats. Since DIO I-amylin dorsomedial nucleus (DMN)-dorsomedial VMN (VMNdm) 26 binding was reduced, we postulated that this contributed to DIO VMH leptin resistance and that 27 impairing ventromedia...

It has been shown that those factors which affect gastric acid secretion through the ventromedial and lateral nuclei of hypothalamus, can significantly alter centrally-mediated secretion. There is much evidence that glucose is among these factors that through a central mechanism can decrease induced acid secretion. It appears that this effect is mediated through glucose-sensitive neurons within...

Exercise has numerous beneficial metabolic effects. The central nervous system (CNS) is critical for regulating energy balance and coordinating whole body metabolism. However, a role for the CNS in the regulation of metabolism in the context of the exercise remains less clear. Here, using genetically engineered mice we assessed the requirement of steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1) expression in neur...

Physiological changes in extracellular glucose, insulin, and leptin regulate glucose-excited (GE) and glucose-inhibited (GI) neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH). Nitric oxide (NO) signaling, which is involved in the regulation of food intake and insulin signaling, is altered in obesity and diabetes. We previously showed that glucose and leptin inhibit NO production via the AMP-activa...

Insulin is believed to regulate glucose homeostasis mainly via direct effects on the liver, muscle, and adipose tissues. The contribution of insulin's central nervous system effects to disorders of glucose metabolism has received less attention. To evaluate whether postnatal reduction of insulin receptors (IRs) within the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), a brain region critical for glucose sens...

During insulin-induced hypoglycemia, there is an increase in extracellular norepinephrine (NE) in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH). This brain area is known to play an important role in integrated hormonal and behavioral responses to systemic hypoglycemia. Selective glucoprivation restricted to the VMH is both necessary and sufficient to initiate secretion of counterregulatory hormones. The ...

The medial amygdala (MeA) is a critical center for processing pheromonal signals that regulate social and reproductive behaviors, but the fundamental cellular mechanisms underlying signal processing in the MeA have remained largely unknown. Some studies suggest that the MeA belongs to the striatum and provides inhibitory output to hypothalamic areas including the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH)...