Brief Communication abstract
Nature Neuroscience 7, 493 - 494 (2004)
Published online: 18 April 2004 | doi:10.1038/nn1226
Orexigen-sensitive NPY/AgRP pacemaker neurons in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus
Marco van den Top1, Kevin Lee1, Andrew D Whyment1, Andrew M Blanks1 & David Spanswick1
The hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC) integrates and responds to satiety and hunger signals and forms the origins of the central neural response to perturbations in energy balance. Here we show that rat ARC neurons containing neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti-related protein (AgRP), which are conditional pacemakers, are activated by orexigens and inhibited by the anorexigen leptin. We propose a neuron-specific signaling mechanism through which central and peripheral signals engage the central neural anabolic drive.
- Department of Biological Sciences, Gibbet Hill Campus, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
Correspondence to: David Spanswick1 e-mail: D.C.Spanswick@warwick.ac.uk
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