Several discrete groups of feeding-regulated neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (; NTS) suppress food intake, including avoidance-promoting neurons that express (NTS cells) and distinct - and -expressing neurons (NTS and NTS cells, respectively) that suppress food intake without promoting avoidance. To test potential synergies among these cell groups, we manipulated multiple NTS cell populations simultaneously. We found that activating multiple sets of NTS neurons (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInsulin secretion from β-cells is tightly regulated by local signaling from preproglucagon () products from neighboring α-cells. Physiological paracrine signaling within the microenvironment of the β-cell is altered after metabolic stress, such as high-fat diet or the β-cell toxin, streptozotocin (STZ). Here, we examined the role and source of peptides in β-cell function and in response to STZ-induced hyperglycemia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Physiol Endocrinol Metab
July 2021
Nearly 80% of patients that receive bariatric surgery are women, yet mechanistic preclinical studies have focused on males. The goal of this study was to determine the metabolic impact of diet- and surgery-induced weight loss in males, females, and ovariectomized females. All mice were fed a 60% high-fat diet (HFD) before undergoing either vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) or sham surgery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeptin receptor-expressing (LepRb-expressing) neurons of the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS; LepRbNTS neurons) receive gut signals that synergize with leptin action to suppress food intake. NTS neurons that express preproglucagon (Ppg) (and that produce the food intake-suppressing PPG cleavage product glucagon-like peptide-1 [GLP1]) represent a subpopulation of mouse LepRbNTS cells. Using Leprcre, Ppgcre, and Ppgfl mouse lines, along with Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs), we examined roles for Ppg in GLP1NTS and LepRbNTS cells for the control of food intake and energy balance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntestinally derived glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), encoded by the preproglucagon (Gcg) gene, is believed to function as an incretin. However, our previous work questioned this dogma and demonstrated that pancreatic peptides rather than intestinal Gcg peptides, including GLP-1, are a primary regulator of glucose homeostasis in normal mice. The objective of these experiments was to determine whether changes in nutrition or alteration of gut hormone secretion by bariatric surgery would result in a larger role for intestinal GLP-1 in the regulation of insulin secretion and glucose homeostasis.
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