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NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY

Blood–brain shuttles—a new way to reach the brain?

Nature Metabolism volume 3, pages 1040–1041 (2021)Cite this article

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Considerable knowledge gaps remain regarding the mechanisms underlying how peripheral hormones affect the brain. Duquenne et al. previously found support for a possible route for leptin to enter the brain, but the results have been somewhat controversial. Now the authors provide further evidence and details in support of this route involving a tanycytic leptin shuttle.

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Fig. 1: Working hypothesis for how leptin from fat tissue reaches the median eminence, where it passes through fenestrated capillaries, avoiding the blood–brain barrier.

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Acknowledgements

We thank E. Schéle for designing the figure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Fredrik Anesten & John-Olov Jansson

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  1. Fredrik Anesten
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  2. John-Olov Jansson
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Correspondence to John-Olov Jansson.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Anesten, F., Jansson, JO. Blood–brain shuttles—a new way to reach the brain?. Nat Metab 3, 1040–1041 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-021-00428-1

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