Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Highlight
  • Published:

Balancing bodily functions

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 7, pages 908–909 (2006)Cite this article

If you've ever been in the contradictory situation of being simultaneously thirsty and in need of the lavatory, it might be partly due to a microRNA (miRNA). When the body needs water, the hypothalamus increases Fos expression, which in turn prevents water secretion by the kidneys. But new work in mice shows that, as FOS increases, miR-7b kicks in to suppress further Fos expression. Lee and colleagues suggest that, by doing so, miR-7b helps to maintain the body's osmolarity equilibrium. They report their findings in PNAS.

The hypothalamus can be considered the master regulator of homeostasis, as it controls body temperature, thirst, hunger, blood pressure and many other autonomic systems to maintain the body's status quo. Under conditions of hyperosmolarity (when the body needs to retain water), Fos expression in the hypothalamus increases, setting off a chain of events that ultimately reduces water secretion by the kidneys. Water secretion cannot be allowed to stop entirely, however, and following the increase, FOS levels reach a steady state if the hyperosmolarity still persists or rapidly drop down as the condition improves. This occurs by protein degradation and, as Lee et al. now show, by inhibiting Fos expression.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Lee, H.-J. et al. miR-7b, a microRNA up-regulated in the hypothalamus after chronic hyperosmolar stimulation, inhibits Fos translation. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 103, 15669–15674 (2006)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Ruth Williams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Williams, R. Balancing bodily functions. Nat Rev Neurosci 7, 908–909 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2048

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2048

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing