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A new role for the brain in metabolic control

Nature Medicine volume 20, pages 472–473 (2014)Cite this article

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Central nervous system (CNS) control of systemic nutrient homeostasis is a crucial but poorly understood metabolic regulatory axis. A new study (484–492) shows that rat insulin promoter (RIP)-expressing neurons in the hypothalamus regulate peripheral metabolic responses to both normal and high-fat diets through anti-inflammatory effects mediated by vagal innervation of the spleen.

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Figure 1: Pten deletion in RIP-expressing neurons increases systemic insulin sensitivity through anti-inflammatory vagal signaling.

Kim Caesar/Nature Publishing Group

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jose B.C. Carvalheira, Justin I. Odegaard and Ajay Chawla are at the Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California–San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.,

    Jose B C Carvalheira, Justin I Odegaard & Ajay Chawla

  2. Ajay Chawla is also at the Departments of Physiology and Medicine, University of California–San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.,

    Ajay Chawla

Authors
  1. Jose B C Carvalheira
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  2. Justin I Odegaard
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  3. Ajay Chawla
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Correspondence to Ajay Chawla.

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Carvalheira, J., Odegaard, J. & Chawla, A. A new role for the brain in metabolic control. Nat Med 20, 472–473 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.3556

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