brainstem control of appetite Flashcards
what does the NTS control (5)
- food intake
- HR
- breathing
- taste
- reflexes (gag, vomit)
feeding pathways through NTS (2)
- pathology-related appetite suppression (emergency system)
- relaying physiologic anoretic cues
how weight loss affects mortality rate in cancer patients
weight loss predicts greater mortality in cancer
diseases weight loss is clinically relevant in (2)
- cancer
- COPD
what is GDF-15
factor secreted by tumors (circulating levels are increased in cancer patients)
instances when GDF-15 is increased (4)
- bacterial and/or viral infection
- hepatic fibrosis
- food poisoning (mycotoxin)
- cancer
oxygen levels in tumor microenvironment
- normal O2 level near blood vessels
- hypoxia (low O2) at core of tumor
how does hypoxia influence GDF-15
increases GDF-15 mRNA and protein levels via ER stress-dependent pathway (ER stress = increased GDF-15 expression)
ER stress DIRECTLY increases levels of which protein
CHOP
relationship bw CHOP and GDF-15
CHOP drives GDF-15 expression in states of ER stress and hypoxia (CHOP-KO = decreased GDF-15 expression)
effect of exogenous GDF-15 administration (5)
- reduction of food intake
- reduction in body weight
- aversion
- nausea
- emesis
how test that GDF-15 induces aversion/nausea
conditioned taste avoidance/aversion (CTA) assay
1. conditioning: expose animal to saccharine-flavored water and drug treatment (simultaneously)
2. testing: without drug treatment, animal chooses bw saccharine water and normal water
results of the CTA assay and why
animals preferred normal water (instead of usual saccharine water) because now associate drug with saccharine water: drug induces nausea and animal doesn’t want that feeling, so avoids the saccharine water (associated with nausea)
effect of GDF-15 overexpression in non-cachetic tumor cell line
reduces body weight (even when non-cachetic tumor cells normally don’t)
GDF-15 levels and clinical outcomes
elevated GDF-15 levels associated with worsened clinical outcomes
which receptor does GDF-15 act through to decrease body weight
GFRAL
where is gfral expressed
ap and nts only (not other feeding centers)
role of gdf-15 and gfral in normal energy and body weight
not needed for normal energy balance or body weight (non-cancer)
location of gfral terminals
mostly ap, some in nts (viewed with gfral Cre-ER)
brain area where ap gfral neurons project and NOT project to
project to parabrachial nucleus; don’t project to hypothalamus
specific compartment of PBN that gfral ap neurons terminate in
external lateral compartment of the pbn (elPBN)
what kind of neuron are cgrp neurons and what do they express
population of elPBN neurons (express cgrp peptide)
effect of activating cgrp neurons in pbn (3)
- reduces body weight
- reduces food intake
- promotes aversive behaviors (avoiding sucrose water)
what activates cgrp neurons in the pbn
pathogenic states; LiCl (irritant) or LPS (mimics infection); cancer (tumors -> GDF-15)
how does LLC tumor cell implantation affect cgrp neurons in pbn
increases cgrp neuron activity
effect of inhibiting cgrp neurons in pbn in cancer + conclusion drawn
protects against cancer-mediated weight loss and anorexia -> cancer acts via cgrp to decrease body weight
role of cgrp neurons in pbn in normal body weight or energy
not required
relationship bw gdf-15 and cgrp neurons in pbn
gdf-15 activates cgrp neurons in pbn
relationship bw gfral neurons in ap and cgrp neurons in pbn
activating gfral neurons activates cgrp neurons (projections from AP -> PBN)
effect of silencing cgrp neurons in pbn on effects of gdf-15
stops the aversive and anoretic properties of gdf-15 (normal aversion, no anorexia)