Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is specialized in energy expenditure, making it a potential target for anti-obesity therapies. Following exposure to cold, BAT is activated by the sympathetic nervous system with concomitant release of catecholamines and activation of β-adrenergic receptors. Because BAT therapies based on cold exposure or β-adrenergic agonists are clinically not feasible, alternative strategies must be explored. Purinergic co-transmission might be involved in sympathetic control of BAT and previous studies reported inhibitory effects of the purinergic transmitter adenosine in BAT from hamster or rat. However, the role of adenosine in human BAT is unknown. Here we show that adenosine activates human and murine brown adipocytes at low nanomolar concentrations. Adenosine is released in BAT during stimulation of sympathetic nerves as well as from brown adipocytes. The adenosine A2A receptor is the most abundant adenosine receptor in human and murine BAT. Pharmacological blockade or genetic loss of A2A receptors in mice causes a decrease in BAT-dependent thermogenesis, whereas treatment with A2A agonists significantly increases energy expenditure. Moreover, pharmacological stimulation of A2A receptors or injection of lentiviral vectors expressing the A2A receptor into white fat induces brown-like cells-so-called beige adipocytes. Importantly, mice fed a high-fat diet and treated with an A2A agonist are leaner with improved glucose tolerance. Taken together, our results demonstrate that adenosine-A2A signalling plays an unexpected physiological role in sympathetic BAT activation and protects mice from diet-induced obesity. Those findings reveal new possibilities for developing novel obesity therapies.

Maternal immune activation (MIA) during pregnancy has been linked to an increased risk of developing psychiatric pathologies in later life. This link may be bridged by a defective microglial phenotype in the offspring induced by MIA, as microglia have key roles in the development and maintenance of neuronal signaling in the central nervous system. The beneficial effects of the immunomodulatory treatment with minocycline on schizophrenic patients are consistent with this hypothesis. Using the MIA mouse model, we found an altered microglial transcriptome and phagocytic function in the adult offspring accompanied by behavioral abnormalities. The changes in microglial phagocytosis on a functional and transcriptional level were similar to those observed in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease hinting to a related microglial phenotype in neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. Minocycline treatment of adult MIA offspring reverted completely the transcriptional, functional and behavioral deficits, highlighting the potential benefits of therapeutic targeting of microglia in psychiatric disorders.

There is a broad reduction of alpha4beta2*-nAChR availability in patients with PD without clinically manifest dementia or depression compared with healthy volunteers. Reduced alpha4beta2*-nAChR binding in patients with PD within the subcortical and cortical regions is associated with the severity of mild cognitive or depressive symptoms. These results provide novel in vivo evidence for a role of the cholinergic neurotransmission in psychiatric comorbidity of PD.

[(18)F]Fluspidine demonstrated favourable target affinity and specificity as well as metabolic stability both in vitro and in animal experiments. The in vivo properties of [(18)F]fluspidine offer a high potential of this radiotracer for neuroimaging and quantitation of σ(1) receptors in vivo.

Bariatric surgery remains the single most effective long-term treatment modality for morbid obesity, achieved mainly by lowering caloric intake through as yet ill-defined mechanisms. Here we show in rats that Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB)-like rerouting of ingested fat mobilizes lower small intestine production of the fat-satiety molecule oleoylethanolamide (OEA). This was associated with vagus nerve-driven increases in dorsal striatal dopamine release. We also demonstrate that RYGB upregulates striatal dopamine 1 receptor (D1R) expression specifically under high-fat diet feeding conditions. Mechanistically, interfering with local OEA, vagal, and dorsal striatal D1R signaling negated the beneficial effects of RYGB on fat intake and preferences. These findings delineate a molecular/systems pathway through which bariatric surgery improves feeding behavior and may aid in the development of novel weight loss strategies that similarly modify brain reward circuits compromised in obesity.

Cannabinoid receptors type 2 (CB2) represent a target with increasing importance for neuroimaging due to its upregulation under various pathological conditions. Encouraged by preliminary results obtained with [(11)C](Z)-N-(3-(2-methoxyethyl)-4,5-dimethylthiazol-2(3H)-ylidene)-2,2,3,3-tetramethyl-cyclopropanecarboxamide ([(11)C]A-836339, [(11)C]1) in a mouse model of acute neuroinflammation (induced by lipopolysaccharide, LPS), we designed a library of fluorinated analogues aiming for an [(18)F]-labeled radiotracer with improved CB2 binding affinity and selectivity. Compound (Z)-N-(3-(4-fluorobutyl)-4,5-dimethylthiazol-2(3H)-ylidene)-2,2,3,3-tetramethyl-cyclopropanecarboxamide (29) was selected as the ligand with the highest CB2 affinity (Ki = 0.39 nM) and selectivity over those of CB1 (factor of 1000). [(18)F]29 was prepared starting from the bromo precursor (53). Specific binding was shown in vitro, whereas fast metabolism was observed in vivo in CD-1 mice. Animal PET revealed a brain uptake comparable to that of [(11)C]1. In the LPS-treated mice, a 20-30% higher uptake in brain was found in comparison to that in nontreated mice (n = 3, P < 0.05).

Highlights d A2B receptor regulates two major energy dissipating tissues: muscle and brown fat d Activation of A2B counteracts sarcopenia as well as obesity in mice d A2B forms heteromers that are crucial for physiological adenosine signaling d A2B expression correlates with energy expenditure in human muscle and brown fat

Together, our results provide evidence for the potential of 2-[(18)]F-A-85380 nAChR PET in the diagnosis of patients at risk for AD. Because of the extraordinary long acquisition time with 2-[(18)F]F-A-85380, we developed the new alpha4beta2 nAChR-specific radioligands (+)- and (-)-[(18)F]norchloro-fluoro-homoepibatidine (NCFHEB) and evaluated them preclinically. (-)-[(18)F]NCFHEB shows twofold higher brain uptake and significantly shorter acquisition times. Therefore, (-)-[(18)F]NCFHEB should be a suitable radioligand for larger clinical investigations.