Neuronal circuits in the central nervous system play a critical role in orchestrating the control of glucose and energy homeostasis. Glucose, beside being a nutrient, is also a signal detected by several glucose-sensing units that are located at different anatomical sites and converge to the hypothalamus to cooperate with leptin and insulin in controlling the melanocortin pathway.

Ripglut1;glut2 -/-mice have no endogenous glucose transporter type 2 (glut2) gene expression but rescue glucoseregulated insulin secretion. Control of glucagon plasma levels is, however, abnormal, with fed hyperglucagonemia and insensitivity to physiological hypo-or hyperglycemia, indicating that GLUT2-dependent sensors control glucagon secretion. Here, we evaluated whether these sensors were located centrally and whether GLUT2 was expressed in glial cells or in neurons. We showed that ripglut1;glut2 -/-mice failed to increase plasma glucagon levels following glucoprivation induced either by i.p. or intracerebroventricular 2-deoxy-D-glucose injections. This was accompanied by failure of 2-deoxy-D-glucose injections to activate c-Fos-like immunoreactivity in the nucleus of the tractus solitarius and the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus. When glut2 was expressed by transgenesis in glial cells but not in neurons of ripglut1;glut2 -/-mice, stimulated glucagon secretion was restored as was c-Fos-like immunoreactive labeling in the brainstem. When ripglut1;glut2 -/-mice were backcrossed into the C57BL/6 genetic background, fed plasma glucagon levels were also elevated due to abnormal autonomic input to the a cells; glucagon secretion was, however, stimulated by hypoglycemic stimuli to levels similar to those in control mice. These studies identify the existence of central glucose sensors requiring glut2 expression in glial cells and therefore functional coupling between glial cells and neurons. These sensors may be activated at different glycemic levels depending on the genetic background.

Key points• The brainstem is a major site of integration for autonomic information from neurones, blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Signals exchange from the CSF is limited by the ependymocytes forming the brain cavities. However neurones contacting the CSF (CSF-cNs) are thought to integrate those signals.• Using immunohistochemical and electrophysiological approaches, we characterise in the brainstem, subependymal CSF-cNs projecting a process ending in the central canal with a protrusion and expressing a 'transient receptor potential' (TRP) channel subtype suggested to act as chemoor mechanoreceptors: the polycystin kidney disease 2-like 1 channels (PKD2L1).• CSF-cNs receive exclusively inhibitory synaptic inputs and express functional channels presenting all properties of PKD2L1: cationic non-selective, large conductance and modulated by extracellular pH and osmolarity.• Because medullar CSF-cNs are strategically positioned between CSF and neuronal parenchyma, we hypothesise that they could play a role in the regulation of homeostasis by integrating CSF signals.Abstract Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) contacting neurones have been observed in various brain regions such as the hypothalamus, the dorsal nucleus of the raphe and around the central canal (cc) of the spinal cord but their functional role remains unclear. At the level of the spinal cord, subependymal cerebrospinal fluid contacting neurones (S-CSF-cNs) present a peculiar morphology with a soma close to the ependymal layer, a process projecting towards the cc and ending with a bud and a cilium. These neurones were recently shown to express polycystin kidney disease 2-like 1 (PKD2L1 or TRPP3) channels that are members of the polycystin subtype of the transient receptor potential (TRP) channel superfamily and that have been proposed as either chemoor mechanoreceptors in several tissues. Using immunohistological techniques and whole-cell electrophysiological recordings in brain slices obtained from PKD2L1:EGFP transgenic adult mice, we looked for and determined the functional properties of S-CSF-cNs in the dorsal vagal complex (DVC), a hindbrain structure controlling autonomic functions such as blood pressure, energy balance and food intake. Here, we demonstrate that S-CSF-cNs received GABAergic and/or glycinergic synaptic entries and were also characterised by the presence of non-selective cationic channels of large conductance that could be detected even under whole-cell configuration. The channel activity was not affected by Psalmopoeus cambridgei toxin 1, a blocker of acid sensing ion channels (ASICs), but was blocked by amiloride and by a strong extracellular acidification. In contrast, extracellular alkalinisation and hypo-osmotic shocks increased channel activity. Based on these properties, we suggest that the single-channel activity recorded in medullar S-CSF-cNs is carried by PKD2L1 channels. Our study therefore reinforces the idea that PKD2L1 is a marker A. Orts-Del'Immagine and N. Wanaverbecq contributed equally to the work.

A role for glucose in the control of feeding has been proposed, but its precise physiological importance is unknown. Here, we evaluated feeding behavior in glut2-null mice, which express a transgenic glucose transporter in their ␤-cells to rescue insulin secretion (ripglut1;glut2 Ϫ/Ϫ mice). We showed that in the absence of GLUT2, daily food intake was increased and feeding initiation and termination following a fasting period were abnormal. This was accompanied by suppressed regulation of hypothalamic orexigenic and anorexigenic neuropeptides expression during the fast-to-refed transition. In these conditions, however, there was normal regulation of the circulating levels of insulin, leptin, or glucose but a loss of regulation of plasma ghrelin concentrations. To evaluate whether the abnormal feeding behavior was due to suppressed glucose sensing, we evaluated feeding in response to intraperitoneal or intracerebroventricular glucose or 2-deoxy-D-glucose injections. We showed that in GLUT2-null mice, feeding was no longer inhibited by glucose or activated by 2-deoxy-D-glucose injections and the regulation of hypothalamic neuropeptide expression by intracerebroventricular glucose administration was lost. Together, these data demonstrate that absence of GLUT2 suppresssed the function of central glucose sensors, which control feeding probably by regulating the hypothalamic melanocortin pathway. Futhermore, inactivation of these glucose sensors causes overeating. Diabetes 55: 988 -995, 2006 T he control of body weight depends on the balance between food intake and energy expenditure. The current epidemic of obesity, which represents a major risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, is caused by a dysregulation of this homeostatic process (1). Both internal and environmental signals cooperate to trigger or terminate food intake and to stimulate anabolic or catabolic pathways. The internal signals are hormones derived from the gut, such as ghrelin, cholecystokinin, glucagon-like peptide-1, or peptide YY 3-36 , from adipocytes (leptin), and pancreatic ␤ cells (insulin) but also nutrients such as glucose and lipids. These signals are integrated by the central nervous system to control feeding and energy expenditure (2,3). In this integrative function, the melanocortin pathway of the hypothalamus plays a critical role, as it is directly regulated by hormones and nutrients (4 -9). This pathway consists of neurons of the arcuate nucleus, which synthesize either orexigenic (neuropeptide Y [NPY] and agouti-related peptide [AgRP]) or anorexigenic (proopiomelanocortin [POMC] and cocaine-and amphetaminerelated transcript [CART]) neuropeptides. These then regulate second-order neurons, in particular those located in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVN) or the lateral hypothalamus (LH). Whereas the PVN neurons express anorexigenic peptides such as thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), LH neurons express the orexigenic peptides orexins and...

No abstract

Deoxynivalenol (DON), mainly produced by Fusarium fungi, and also commonly called vomitoxin, is a trichothecene mycotoxin. It is one of the most abundant trichothecenes which contaminate cereals consumed by farm animals and humans. The extent of cereal contamination is strongly associated with rainfall and moisture at the time of flowering and with grain storage conditions. DON consumption may result in intoxication, the severity of which is dose-dependent and may lead to different symptoms including anorexia, vomiting, reduced weight gain, neuroendocrine changes, immunological effects, diarrhea, leukocytosis, hemorrhage or circulatory shock. During the last two decades, many studies have described DON toxicity using diverse animal species as a model. While the action of the toxin on peripheral organs and tissues is well documented, data illustrating its effect on the brain are significantly less abundant. Yet, DON is known to affect the central nervous system. Recent studies have provided new evidence and detail regarding the action of the toxin on the brain. The purpose of the present review is to summarize critical studies illustrating this central action of the toxin and to suggest research perspectives in this field.

Physiological regulations of energy balance and body weight imply highly adaptive mechanisms which match caloric intake to caloric expenditure. In the central nervous system, the regulation of appetite relies on complex neurocircuitry which disturbance may alter energy balance and result in anorexia or obesity. Deoxynivalenol (DON), a trichothecene, is one of the most abundant mycotoxins found on contaminated cereals and its stability during processing and cooking explains its widespread presence in human food. DON has been implicated in acute and chronic illnesses in both humans and farm animals including weight loss. Here, we provide the first demonstration that DON reduced feeding behavior and modified satiation and satiety by interfering with central neuronal networks dedicated to food intake regulation. Moreover, our results strongly suggest that during intoxication, DON reaches the brain where it modifies anorexigenic balance. In view of the widespread human exposure to DON, the present results may lead to reconsider the potential consequences of chronic DON consumption on human eating disorders.

Recently, a novel factor with anorexigenic properties was identified and called nesfatin-1. This protein (82 aac) is not only expressed in peripheral organs but it is also found in neurons located in specific structures including the hypothalamus and the brainstem, two sites strongly involved in food intake regulation. Here, we studied whether some of the neurons that become activated following an injection of an anorectic dose of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) exhibit a nesfatin-1 phenotype. To this end, we used double immunohistochemistry to target the expression of the immediate-early gene c-fos and of nesfatin-1 on coronal frozen sections of the rat brain. The number of c-Fos+/nesfatin-1+ neurons was evaluated in the immunosensitive structures reported to contain nesfatin-1 neurons; i.e. paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVN), supraoptic nucleus (SON), arcuate nucleus (ARC) and nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS). LPS strongly increased the number of c-Fos+/nesfatin-1+ neurons in the PVN, SON and NTS, and to a lesser extent in the ARC. Triple labeling showed that a portion of the nesfatin-1 neurons activated in response to LPS within the NTS are catecholaminergic since they co-express tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). Our data therefore indicate that a portion of nesfatin-1 neurons of both the hypothalamus and brainstem are sensitive to peripheral inflammatory signals, and provide the first clues suggesting that centrally released nesfatin-1 may contribute to the neural mechanisms leading to endotoxaemic anorexia.