PGC-1alpha is a coactivator of nuclear receptors and other transcription factors that regulates several metabolic processes, including mitochondrial biogenesis and respiration, hepatic gluconeogenesis, and muscle fiber-type switching. We show here that, while hepatocytes lacking PGC-1alpha are defective in the program of hormone-stimulated gluconeogenesis, the mice have constitutively activated gluconeogenic gene expression that is completely insensitive to normal feeding controls. C/EBPbeta is elevated in the livers of these mice and activates the gluconeogenic genes in a PGC-1alpha-independent manner. Despite having reduced mitochondrial function, PGC-1alpha null mice are paradoxically lean and resistant to diet-induced obesity. This is largely due to a profound hyperactivity displayed by the null animals and is associated with lesions in the striatal region of the brain that controls movement. These data illustrate a central role for PGC-1alpha in the control of energy metabolism but also reveal novel systemic compensatory mechanisms and pathogenic effects of impaired energy homeostasis.

A subset of neurons in the brain, known as 'glucose-excited' neurons, depolarize and increase their firing rate in response to increases in extracellular glucose. Similar to insulin secretion by pancreatic beta-cells, glucose excitation of neurons is driven by ATP-mediated closure of ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channels. Although beta-cell-like glucose sensing in neurons is well established, its physiological relevance and contribution to disease states such as type 2 diabetes remain unknown. To address these issues, we disrupted glucose sensing in glucose-excited pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons via transgenic expression of a mutant Kir6.2 subunit (encoded by the Kcnj11 gene) that prevents ATP-mediated closure of K(ATP) channels. Here we show that this genetic manipulation impaired the whole-body response to a systemic glucose load, demonstrating a role for glucose sensing by POMC neurons in the overall physiological control of blood glucose. We also found that glucose sensing by POMC neurons became defective in obese mice on a high-fat diet, suggesting that loss of glucose sensing by neurons has a role in the development of type 2 diabetes. The mechanism for obesity-induced loss of glucose sensing in POMC neurons involves uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2), a mitochondrial protein that impairs glucose-stimulated ATP production. UCP2 negatively regulates glucose sensing in POMC neurons. We found that genetic deletion of Ucp2 prevents obesity-induced loss of glucose sensing, and that acute pharmacological inhibition of UCP2 reverses loss of glucose sensing. We conclude that obesity-induced, UCP2-mediated loss of glucose sensing in glucose-excited neurons might have a pathogenic role in the development of type 2 diabetes.

Leptin action on its receptor (LEPR) stimulates energy expenditure and reduces food intake, thereby lowering body weight. One leptin-sensitive target cell mediating these effects on energy balance is the proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neuron. Recent evidence suggests that the action of leptin on POMC neurons regulates glucose homeostasis independently of its effects on energy balance. Here, we have dissected the physiological impact of direct leptin action on POMC neurons using a mouse model in which endogenous LEPR expression was prevented by a LoxP-flanked transcription blocker (loxTB), but could be reactivated by Cre recombinase. Mice homozygous for the Lepr loxTB allele were obese and exhibited defects characteristic of LEPR deficiency. Reexpression of LEPR only in POMC neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus did not reduce food intake, but partially normalized energy expenditure and modestly reduced body weight. Despite the moderate effects on energy balance and independent of changes in body weight, restoring LEPR in POMC neurons normalized blood glucose and ameliorated hepatic insulin resistance, hyperglucagonemia, and dyslipidemia.Collectively, these results demonstrate that direct leptin action on POMC neurons does not reduce food intake, but is sufficient to normalize glucose and glucagon levels in mice otherwise lacking LEPR. IntroductionLeptin is an adipose-derived hormone that acts on its cognate receptors (LEPR) expressed by multiple neuronal groups in distinct areas of the brain (1). The canonical effect of leptin action in the brain is to regulate food intake and energy expenditure and thus body weight (2-4). In addition, leptin regulates several other physiological processes, including hepatic glucose production, insulin action, and glucagon levels (5-10). It is still unclear, however, which neurons mediate the varied physiological effects of leptin.One population of neurons targeted by leptin is proopiomelanocortin (POMC) cells in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARH) and nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) (2, 3). Leptin action on POMC neurons in the ARH is considered a prototypical site of action in the control of energy balance. This view is partly based on results showing that loss of LEPR in POMC neurons increases body weight (8,11,12). Conversely, LEPR reexpression in the ARH (13), overexpression in the ARH (14-17), and transgenic expression in POMC neurons (18) lower body weight. Interestingly, these latter studies also show lowered blood glucose, suggesting that leptin-sensitive POMC neurons in the ARH directly modulate metabolism (13-18). In the current study, we developed what we believe to be a novel LEPR-null mouse model in which endogenous LEPR expression can be reexpressed in cells that normally express leptin receptors. Here, we reexpress LEPR only in POMC neurons to delineate the physiological effects on energy and metabolic homeostasis.

SUMMARY Hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons promote satiety. Cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R) is critical for central regulation of food intake. We interrogated whether CB1R-controlled feeding is paralleled by decreased activity of POMC neurons. Chemical promotion of CB1R activity increased feeding, and strikingly, CB1R activation also promoted neuronal activity of POMC cells. This paradoxical increase in POMC activity was crucial for CB1R-induced feeding, because Designer-Receptors-Exclusively-Activated-by-Designer-Drugs (DREADD)-mediated inhibition of POMC neurons diminished, while DREADD-mediated activation of POMC neurons enhanced CB1R-driven feeding. The Pomc gene encodes both the anorexigenic peptide, α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH), and the peptide, β-endorphin. CB1R activation selectively increased β-endorphin but not α-MSH release in the hypothalamus, and, systemic or hypothalamic administration of the opioid receptor antagonist, naloxone, blocked acute CB1R-induced feeding. These processes involved mitochondrial adaptations, which, when blocked, abolished CB1R-induced cellular responses and feeding. Together, these results unmasked a previously unsuspected role of POMC neurons in promotion of feeding by cannabinoids.

Chronic low-grade inflammation is a hallmark of obesity and thought to contribute to the development of obesity-related insulin resistance. Toll-like receptor 4 (Tlr4) is a key mediator of pro-inflammatory responses. Mice lacking Tlr4s are protected from diet-induced insulin resistance and inflammation; however which Tlr4 expressing cells mediate this effect is unknown. Here we show that mice deficient in hepatocyte Tlr4 (Tlr4LKO) exhibit improved glucose tolerance, enhanced insulin sensitivity, and ameliorated hepatic steatosis despite the development of obesity after a high fat diet (HFD) challenge. Furthermore, Tlr4LKO mice have reduced macrophage content in white adipose tissue, as well as decreased tissue and circulating inflammatory markers. In contrast, the loss of Tlr4 activity in myeloid cells has little effect on insulin sensitivity. Collectively, these data indicate that the activation of Tlr4 on hepatocytes contributes to obesity-associated inflammation and insulin resistance, and suggest that targeting hepatocyte Tlr4 might be a useful therapeutic strategy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Summary Feeding on high-calorie (HC) diets induces serious metabolic imbalances, including obesity. Understanding the mechanisms against excessive body weight gain is critical for developing effective anti-obesity strategies. Here, we show that lack of nicotinamide adenosine dinucleotide (NAD+)-dependent deacetylase SIRT1 in pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons causes hypersensitivity to diet-induced obesity due to reduced energy expenditure. The ability of leptin to properly engage the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling in POMC neurons and elicit remodeling of perigonadal white adipose tissue (WAT) is severely compromised in mutant mice. Also, electrophysiological and histomorphomolecular analyses indicate a selective reduction in sympathetic nerve activity and brown-fat-like characteristics in perigonadal WAT of mutant mice; suggesting a physiologically important role for POMC neurons in controlling this visceral fat depot. In summary, our results provide direct genetic evidence that SIRT1 in POMC neurons is required for normal autonomic adaptations against diet-induced obesity.

Summary The dogma that life without insulin is incompatible has recently been challenged by results showing viability of insulin-deficient rodents undergoing leptin mono-therapy. Yet, the mechanisms underlying these actions of leptin are unknown. Here, the metabolic outcomes of intracerebroventricular (icv) administration of leptin in mice devoid of insulin and lacking or re-expressing leptin receptors (LEPRs) only in selected neuronal groups were assessed. Our results demonstrate that concomitant re-expression of LEPRs only in hypothalamic γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic and pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons is sufficient to fully mediate the life-saving and anti-diabetic actions of leptin in insulin deficiency. Our analyses indicate that enhanced glucose uptake by brown adipose tissue and soleus muscle, as well as improved hepatic metabolism, underlie these effects of leptin. Collectively, our data elucidate a hypothalamic-dependent pathway enabling life without insulin and hence pave the way for developing better treatments for diseases of insulin deficiency.

Energy and glucose homeostasis are regulated by central serotonin 2C receptors. These receptors are attractive pharmacological targets for the treatment of obesity; however, the identity of the serotonin 2C receptorexpressing neurons that mediate the effects of serotonin and serotonin 2C receptor agonists on energy and glucose homeostasis are unknown. Here, we show that mice lacking serotonin 2C receptors (Htr2c) specifically in pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons had normal body weight but developed glucoregulatory defects including hyperinsulinemia, hyperglucagonemia, hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance. Moreover, these mice did not show anorectic responses to serotonergic agents that suppress appetite and developed hyperphagia and obesity when they were fed a high-fat/high-sugar diet. A requirement of serotonin 2C receptors in POMC neurons for the maintenance of normal energy and glucose homeostasis was further demonstrated when Htr2c loss was induced in POMC neurons in adult mice using a tamoxifen-inducible POMC-cre system. These data demonstrate that serotonin 2C receptor-expressing POMC neurons are required to control energy and glucose homeostasis and implicate POMC neurons as the target for the effect of serotonin 2C receptor agonists on weight-loss induction and improved glycemic control.