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Whole-brain mapping of the direct inputs and axonal projections of POMC and AgRP neurons

Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus and nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) of the brainstem play important roles in suppressing food intake and maintaining energy homeostasis. Previous tract-tracing studies have revealed the axonal connection patterns o...

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Autores principales: Wang, Daqing, He, Xiaobing, Zhao, Zhe, Feng, Qiru, Lin, Rui, Sun, Yue, Ding, Ting, Xu, Fuqiang, Luo, Minmin, Zhan, Cheng
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4375998/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25870542
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnana.2015.00040
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author Wang, Daqing
He, Xiaobing
Zhao, Zhe
Feng, Qiru
Lin, Rui
Sun, Yue
Ding, Ting
Xu, Fuqiang
Luo, Minmin
Zhan, Cheng
author_facet Wang, Daqing
He, Xiaobing
Zhao, Zhe
Feng, Qiru
Lin, Rui
Sun, Yue
Ding, Ting
Xu, Fuqiang
Luo, Minmin
Zhan, Cheng
author_sort Wang, Daqing
collection PubMed
description Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus and nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) of the brainstem play important roles in suppressing food intake and maintaining energy homeostasis. Previous tract-tracing studies have revealed the axonal connection patterns of these two brain areas, but the intermingling of POMC neurons with other neuron types has made it challenging to precisely identify the inputs and outputs of POMC neurons. In this study, we used the modified rabies virus to map the brain areas that provide direct inputs to the POMC neurons in the ARC and NTS as well as the inputs to the ARC AgRP neurons for comparison. ARC POMC neurons receive inputs from dozens of discrete structures throughout the forebrain and brainstem. The brain areas containing the presynaptic partners of ARC POMC neurons largely overlap with those of ARC AgRP neurons, although POMC neurons receive relatively broader, denser inputs. Furthermore, POMC neurons in the NTS receive direct inputs predominantly from the brainstem and show very different innervation patterns for POMC neurons in the ARC. By selectively expressing fluorescent markers in the ARC and NTS POMC neurons, we found that almost all of their major presynaptic partners are innervated by POMC neurons in the two areas, suggesting that there are strong reciprocal projections among the major POMC neural pathways. By comprehensively chartering the whole-brain connections of the central melanocortin system in a cell-type-specific manner, this study lays the foundation for dissecting the roles and underlying circuit mechanisms of specific neural pathways in regulating energy homeostasis.
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spelling pubmed-43759982015-04-13 Whole-brain mapping of the direct inputs and axonal projections of POMC and AgRP neurons Wang, Daqing He, Xiaobing Zhao, Zhe Feng, Qiru Lin, Rui Sun, Yue Ding, Ting Xu, Fuqiang Luo, Minmin Zhan, Cheng Front Neuroanat Neuroscience Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus and nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) of the brainstem play important roles in suppressing food intake and maintaining energy homeostasis. Previous tract-tracing studies have revealed the axonal connection patterns of these two brain areas, but the intermingling of POMC neurons with other neuron types has made it challenging to precisely identify the inputs and outputs of POMC neurons. In this study, we used the modified rabies virus to map the brain areas that provide direct inputs to the POMC neurons in the ARC and NTS as well as the inputs to the ARC AgRP neurons for comparison. ARC POMC neurons receive inputs from dozens of discrete structures throughout the forebrain and brainstem. The brain areas containing the presynaptic partners of ARC POMC neurons largely overlap with those of ARC AgRP neurons, although POMC neurons receive relatively broader, denser inputs. Furthermore, POMC neurons in the NTS receive direct inputs predominantly from the brainstem and show very different innervation patterns for POMC neurons in the ARC. By selectively expressing fluorescent markers in the ARC and NTS POMC neurons, we found that almost all of their major presynaptic partners are innervated by POMC neurons in the two areas, suggesting that there are strong reciprocal projections among the major POMC neural pathways. By comprehensively chartering the whole-brain connections of the central melanocortin system in a cell-type-specific manner, this study lays the foundation for dissecting the roles and underlying circuit mechanisms of specific neural pathways in regulating energy homeostasis. Frontiers Media S.A. 2015-03-27 /pmc/articles/PMC4375998/ /pubmed/25870542 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnana.2015.00040 Text en Copyright © 2015 Wang, He, Zhao, Feng, Lin, Sun, Ding, Xu, Luo and Zhan. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Neuroscience
Wang, Daqing
He, Xiaobing
Zhao, Zhe
Feng, Qiru
Lin, Rui
Sun, Yue
Ding, Ting
Xu, Fuqiang
Luo, Minmin
Zhan, Cheng
Whole-brain mapping of the direct inputs and axonal projections of POMC and AgRP neurons
title Whole-brain mapping of the direct inputs and axonal projections of POMC and AgRP neurons
title_full Whole-brain mapping of the direct inputs and axonal projections of POMC and AgRP neurons
title_fullStr Whole-brain mapping of the direct inputs and axonal projections of POMC and AgRP neurons
title_full_unstemmed Whole-brain mapping of the direct inputs and axonal projections of POMC and AgRP neurons
title_short Whole-brain mapping of the direct inputs and axonal projections of POMC and AgRP neurons
title_sort whole-brain mapping of the direct inputs and axonal projections of pomc and agrp neurons
topic Neuroscience
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4375998/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25870542
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnana.2015.00040
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