Acute Lesioning and Rapid Repair of Hypothalamic Neurons outside the Blood-Brain Barrier.

Neurons expressing agouti-related protein (AgRP) are essential for feeding. The majority of these neurons are located outside the blood-brain barrier (BBB), allowing them to directly sense circulating metabolic factors. Here, we show that, in adult mice, AgRP neurons outside the BBB (AgRP) were rapidly ablated by peripheral administration of monosodium glutamate (MSG), whereas AgRP neurons inside the BBB and most proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons were spared.