High-fat feeding promotes obesity via insulin receptor/PI3K-dependent inhibition of SF-1 VMH neurons
- PMID: 21642975
- PMCID: PMC3371271
- DOI: 10.1038/nn.2847
High-fat feeding promotes obesity via insulin receptor/PI3K-dependent inhibition of SF-1 VMH neurons
Abstract
Steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1)-expressing neurons of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) control energy homeostasis, but the role of insulin action in these cells remains undefined. We show that insulin activates phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI3K) signaling in SF-1 neurons and reduces firing frequency in these cells through activation of K(ATP) channels. These effects were abrogated in mice with insulin receptor deficiency restricted to SF-1 neurons (SF-1(ΔIR) mice). Whereas body weight and glucose homeostasis remained the same in SF-1(ΔIR) mice as in controls under a normal chow diet, they were protected from diet-induced leptin resistance, weight gain, adiposity and impaired glucose tolerance. High-fat feeding activated PI3K signaling in SF-1 neurons of control mice, and this response was attenuated in the VMH of SF-1(ΔIR) mice. Mimicking diet-induced overactivation of PI3K signaling by disruption of the phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate phosphatase PTEN led to increased body weight and hyperphagia under a normal chow diet. Collectively, our experiments reveal that high-fat diet-induced, insulin-dependent PI3K activation in VMH neurons contributes to obesity development.
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Comment in
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Cajal revisited: does the VMH make us fat?Nat Neurosci. 2011 Jun 27;14(7):806-8. doi: 10.1038/nn.2867. Nat Neurosci. 2011. PMID: 21709675 No abstract available.
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