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Neuroscience

Astrocytic GABA in LHA is an obesity ‘thermostat’

Nature Metabolism volume 5, pages 1454–1455 (2023)Cite this article

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Sa et al. identified a distinct neuronal subpopulation that controls brown adipose tissue thermogenesis. In mice fed a high-fat diet, hypothalamic GABRA5 neurons are deactivated by GABA released by surrounding astrocytes and inhibition of GABA synthesis ameliorates diet-induced obesity.

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Fig. 1: Effect of hypothalamic GABRA5 neurons on body-weight regulation through astrocytes.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Holleman (Helmholtz Munich; Germany) for her comments. The research of the authors is supported by funding from the European Research Council (ERC) (C.G.-C.: STG grant AstroNeuroCrosstalk no. 757393), the German Research Foundation (DFG) under Germany’s Excellence Strategy within the framework of the Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (EXC 2145 SyNergy – ID 390857198), and Helmholtz Association - Initiative and Networking Fund. I.G.-G. is supported by a Ramón y Cajal Award (RYC2021-031225-I) from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación of Spain. The funders had no role in decision to publish or prepare this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, CiMUS, University of Santiago de Compostela–Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    Ismael González-García

  2. CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    Ismael González-García

  3. Institute for Diabetes and Obesity, Helmholtz Diabetes Center, Helmholtz Munich & German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Neuherberg, Germany

    Cristina García-Cáceres

  4. Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik IV, Klinikum der Universität, Ludwig Maximilians Universität München, Munich, Germany

    Cristina García-Cáceres

Authors
  1. Ismael González-García
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  2. Cristina García-Cáceres
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ismael González-García or Cristina García-Cáceres.

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González-García, I., García-Cáceres, C. Astrocytic GABA in LHA is an obesity ‘thermostat’. Nat Metab 5, 1454–1455 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00849-0

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