The roles of melanin-concentrating hormone in energy balance and reproductive function: are they connected?

Naufahu, Jane; Cunliffe, Adam; Murray, Joanne F.

doi:10.1530/rep-12-0385

Cited by 34 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 96 publications

(139 reference statements)

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“…It is noteworthy, as others have pointed (Naufahu et al, 2013), that MCH actions on sexual behavior probably incur in important survival gains by better coordinating the time for animals to engage in reproductive behaviors, since doing so in states of negative energy balance could incur in danger to the animal’s life and their potential offspring.…”

Section: Other Behaviorsmentioning

confidence: 97%

The Melanin-Concentrating Hormone as an Integrative Peptide Driving Motivated Behaviors

Diniz

Bittencourt

2017

Front. Syst. Neurosci.

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The melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is an important peptide implicated in the control of motivated behaviors. History, however, made this peptide first known for its participation in the control of skin pigmentation, from which its name derives. In addition to this peripheral role, MCH is strongly implicated in motivated behaviors, such as feeding, drinking, mating and, more recently, maternal behavior. It is suggested that MCH acts as an integrative peptide, converging sensory information and contributing to a general arousal of the organism. In this review, we will discuss the various aspects of energy homeostasis to which MCH has been associated to, focusing on the different inputs that feed the MCH peptidergic system with information regarding the homeostatic status of the organism and the exogenous sensory information that drives this system, as well as the outputs that allow MCH to act over a wide range of homeostatic and behavioral controls, highlighting the available morphological and hodological aspects that underlie these integrative actions. Besides the well-described role of MCH in feeding behavior, a prime example of hypothalamic-mediated integration, we will also examine those functions in which the participation of MCH has not yet been extensively characterized, including sexual, maternal, and defensive behaviors. We also evaluated the available data on the distribution of MCH and its function in the context of animals in their natural environment. Finally, we briefly comment on the evidence for MCH acting as a coordinator between different modalities of motivated behaviors, highlighting the most pressing open questions that are open for investigations and that could provide us with important insights about hypothalamic-dependent homeostatic integration.

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Section: Other Behaviorsmentioning

confidence: 97%

The Melanin-Concentrating Hormone as an Integrative Peptide Driving Motivated Behaviors

Diniz

Bittencourt

2017

Front. Syst. Neurosci.

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“…(207)]. The close appositions between MCH fibers and hypothalamic GnRH neurons (208, 209) and the expression of MCH receptors in GnRH neurons (209) suggest the direct action of MCH on GnRH neurons in mammals.…”

Section: Metabolic Neuropeptides Involved In Reproductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Central Pathways Integrating Metabolism and Reproduction in Teleosts

2014

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Energy balance plays an important role in the control of reproduction. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms connecting the two systems are not well understood especially in teleosts. The hypothalamus plays a crucial role in the regulation of both energy balance and reproduction, and contains a number of neuropeptides, including gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), orexin, neuropeptide-Y, ghrelin, pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide, α-melanocyte stimulating hormone, melanin-concentrating hormone, cholecystokinin, 26RFamide, nesfatin, kisspeptin, and gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone. These neuropeptides are involved in the control of energy balance and reproduction either directly or indirectly. On the other hand, synthesis and release of these hypothalamic neuropeptides are regulated by metabolic signals from the gut and the adipose tissue. Furthermore, neurons producing these neuropeptides interact with each other, providing neuronal basis of the link between energy balance and reproduction. This review summarizes the advances made in our understanding of the physiological roles of the hypothalamic neuropeptides in energy balance and reproduction in teleosts, and discusses how they interact with GnRH, kisspeptin, and pituitary gonadotropins to control reproduction in teleosts.

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“…After more than 20 years of research subsequent to the discovery of the melanin‐concentrating hormone (MCH) in mammals, an extensive list of roles involving this family of neuropeptides has been described, including reproductive functions and the drive for motivated behaviours . Among the motivated behaviours is maternal behaviour, an essential component for the survival of mammalian species, granting nourishment and protection for the litter until the pups become autonomous.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterisation and origins of melanin‐concentrating hormone immunoreactive fibres of the posterior lobe of the pituitary and median eminence during lactation in the Long‐Evans rat

Costa

Da-Silva

Diniz

et al. 2019

J Neuroendocrinology

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Although the melanin‐concentrating hormone (MCH) and its coding mRNA are predominantly found in the tuberal hypothalamus, there is detectable synthesis of MCH in the preoptic hypothalamus exclusively in lactating dams, suggesting a participation of MCH in the alterations that take place after parturition. Also implicated in the dam physiology is oxytocin, a neurohormone released from the posterior pituitary that is necessary for milk ejection. Because the projection fields from oxytocin‐immunoreactive (‐IR) neurones and the mediobasal preoptic hypothalamus overlap and MCH‐IR neurones are found in proximity to oxytocin neurones, we investigated the spatial relationship between MCH and oxytocin fibres. Accordingly, we employed multiple immunohistochemistry labelling for MCH and oxytocin for light and electron microscopy techniques, in addition to i.v. tracer injection combined with in situ hybridisation to identify MCH neurones that project to neurosecretory areas. As described for other strains, lactating Long‐Evans dams also display immunoreactivity for MCH in the preoptic hypothalamus on days 12 and 19 of lactation. The appearance of these neurones is contemporaneous with an increase in MCH‐IR fibres in both the internal layer of the median eminence and the posterior pituitary. In both regions, MCH‐ and oxytocin‐IR fibres were found in great proximity, although there was no evidence for synaptic interaction between these two populations at the ultrastructural level. The tracer injection revealed that only mediobasal preoptic MCH neurones project to the posterior pituitary, suggesting a neuroendocrine‐modulatory role for this population. When taken together, the results obtained in the present study indicate that neuroplasticity events at the mediobasal preoptic hypothalamus that occur during late lactation may be part of a neuroendocrinology control loop involving both MCH and oxytocin.

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The roles of melanin-concentrating hormone in energy balance and reproductive function: are they connected?

Cited by 34 publications

References 96 publications

The Melanin-Concentrating Hormone as an Integrative Peptide Driving Motivated Behaviors

The Melanin-Concentrating Hormone as an Integrative Peptide Driving Motivated Behaviors

Central Pathways Integrating Metabolism and Reproduction in Teleosts

Characterisation and origins of melanin‐concentrating hormone immunoreactive fibres of the posterior lobe of the pituitary and median eminence during lactation in the Long‐Evans rat

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