Food intake Flashcards
what is the formula for BMI?
weight kg / height m ^2
what BMI value is the obesity cut off?
30
name the health risks associated with obesity
type 2 diabetes
cardiovascular disease (hypertension and hyperlipidemia)
sleep-breathing abnormalities (apnea)
gallstones
menstrual irregularities
cancer (colon, endometrial)
which 3 brain areas are mostly involved in energy balance
hypothalamus, ventral tegmental area, brainstem
what system is the ventral tegmental area part of?
hedonic system: increases want for food and pleasure
from what organs does the homeostatic system for energy balance get input?
adipose tissue, pancreas, intestine, stomach, liver
which 4 hypothalamic regions regulate food intake?
3rd ventricle, dorsomedial nucleus, ventromedial nucleus, arcuate nucleus
what is the consequence of lesioning PVN, VMN or DMN?
increase in food intake
what is the consequence of lesioning lateral hypothalamic area LHA?
reduced food intake
what is the defect in ob/ob mice? how do we know?
ligand (leptin) defect (because when fused with a WT mice, its weight normalizes because it gets the ligand from wt)
what is the defect in db/db mice?
receptor defect (because when fused with a WT mice, its weight doesn’t normalize and the other (WT or ob/ob) mice dies)
what can restore normal body mass in ob/ob mice?
leptin
what criteria are required for leptin treatment to help loos weight?
patient is leptin-deficient or of normal weight
what is one cause of obesity we talked about?
leptin resistance
leptin receptor is in which family?
type 1 cytokine receptor family
what are the 2 neurons subpopulations in hypothalamus involved in energy balance? location? function?
both in Arc
NPY/AgRP neurons: increases food intake
POMC: decrease food intake
these Arc neurons subpopulations interact with what receptor?
MC3/4R
how did they find that NPY and AgRP were expressed in the same neuron population?
immunohistochemistry
how does Cre work?
Cre is a site-specific DNA recombinase that catalyses the recombination of DNA between loxP sequences
where do we find the most leptin receptors? what other receptors are found there?
Arcuate nucleus.
leptin, insulin, ghrelin, nutrients
where else did we find some leptin receptors?
hypothalamus: POA, VMH, DMH
brainstem: NTS
through which nucleus are the hypothalamus and brainstem connected?
PVH -> NTS
what happened to mice in which we KO leptin receptors on POMC or AgRP neurons?
development of mild obesity
what happened to mice in which we KO leptin receptors on VMH neurons?
development of very mild obesity
what was the difference between whole-body LepRKO and neuron-specific LepRKO mice?
whole-body LepRKO had severe obesity
neuron-specific LepRKO had mild obesity
does leptin action on excitatory or inhibitory neurons prevent obesity?
GABAergic inhibitory neurons
what cells are the only known LepR neurons that are GABAergic and contribute directly to obesity?
AgRP neurons! but their effect is mild
what happened to AgRP expression in AgRP neurons in the Arc when mice are fasted?
increased AgRP expression
with what technique did they find AgRP activity?
genetically encoded calcium indicator with GFP and optogenetics
what happens to AgRP neurons of fasted mice when they encounter food?
activity rapidly goes down (but it goes back up if they are given false food)
what channel do they use for optogenetics?
rhodopsin channel
were mice attracted to or avoided food associated with AgRP neurons activation? what does this mean?
avoided… means AgRP neuron activity has negative value
what is leptin’s primary role?
serve as metabolic signal of energy sufficiency rather than excess
what does low leptin levels signal?
low energy -> need to eat!
why are excessively lean women infertile?
decreased gonadal hormone due to lack of leptin (due to lack of fat) delays ovulation
why are obese women infertile?
too much leptin causes leptin resistance
how does leptin treatment help too lean women gain fertility back?
diminishes the fall in hormone levels and improves reproductive function
where does ghrelin come from and where does it act?
from stomach / GI tract. acts on AgRP Arc neurons
are there other known orexigenic gut hormones?
no ghrelin is the only one
describe ghrelin
- 28 amino acid acylated hormone
- appetite-stimulating activities
- growth hormone-releasing activities
ghrelin is the endogenous ligand of what receptor?
GHSR growth hormone secretagogue receptor
when do ghrelin plasma levels rise / fall?
rise during fasting and immediately before meals.
fall within an hour of food intake.
what does ghrelin induce in mice?
food intake and weight gain (adiposity)
when is the peak ghrelin? what varies between subjects?
right before we start eating. the peak amplitude can vary but not the timing
why do we think ghrelin is involved in the rebound weight gain?
because plasma ghrelin increases significantly after diet-induced weight loss