8 August 2002

Hunger hormone: Meal brake

Food intake is regulated by a number of different pathways, including
melanocortin and neuropeptide Y systems in the arcuate nucleus region of the
hypothalamus, but the powerful mechanisms that reduce appetite for many hours after a meal have not been clearly established. Batterham et al. now show that the hormone peptide YY_3–36 is released from the gut following a meal, and then inhibits food intake via action on the hypothalamic neuropeptide Y2 receptor. So peptide YY_3–36 joins the list of potential targets for the treatment of obesity.

Gut hormone PYY_3-36 physiologically inhibits food intake
RACHEL L. BATTERHAM, MICHAEL A. COWLEY , CAROLINE J. SMALL, HERBERT HERZOG, MARK A. COHEN, CATHERINE L. DAKIN, ALISON M. WREN, AUDREY E. BRYNES, MALCOLM J. LOW, MOHAMMAD A. GHATEI, ROGER D. CONE & STEPHEN R. BLOOM
Nature 418, 650–654 (2002); doi:10.1038/nature00887
| First Paragraph | Full Text (HTML / PDF) |

Obesity: Keeping hunger at bay
MICHAEL W. SCHWARTZ & GREGORY J. MORTON
Many different hormones control our weight and appetite. The discovery of another hormone, which suppresses appetite for up to 12 hours, may lead to a better understanding of this complex control system.
Nature 418, 595–597 (2002); doi:10.1038/418595a
| Full Text (HTML / PDF) |

'Third-helping' hormone found