A hindbrain dopaminergic neural circuit prevents weight gain by reinforcing food satiation

Authors: HAN, YONG - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); XIA, GUOBIN - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); HE, YANLIN - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); HE, YANG - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); FARIAS, MONICA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); XU, YONG - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); WU, QI - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: Science Advances
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/6/2021
Publication Date: 5/26/2021
Citation: Han, Y., Xia, G., He, Y., He, Y., Farias, M., Xu, Y., Wu, Q. 2021. A hindbrain dopaminergic neural circuit prevents weight gain by reinforcing food satiation. Science Advances. 7(22). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abf8719.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abf8719

Interpretive Summary: Obesity is a common and serious condition that affects around 42% of adults in the United States. While there are intense studies on the effect of appetite on food intake and body weight, so far there is few studies on how the satiation associated neural circuit influence body weight. This work uncovers a new mechanism about how the brain dopamine system exerts a robust and bi-directional role in control of food satiation, i.e. the portion size of every single meal. Enhancement of the satiation signals terminated feeding bout in advance, decreased food intake and body weight. On the contrary, suppression of the satiation signals prolonged the feeding and increased food intake. Furthermore, this article illuminates new pharmacological mechanism of an FDA-approved compound (methylphenidate) for its potential application in treating obesity by stimulating satiation through this newly identified dopaminergic neural circuit.

Technical Abstract: The neural circuitry mechanism that underlies dopaminergic (DA) control of innate feeding behavior is largely uncharacterized. Here, we identified a subpopulation of DA neurons situated in the caudal ventral tegmental area (cVTA) directly innervating DRD1-expressing neurons within the lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPBN). This neural circuit potently suppresses food intake via enhanced satiation response. Notably, this cohort of DAcVTA neurons is activated immediately before the cessation of each feeding bout. Acute inhibition of these DA neurons before bout termination substantially suppresses satiety and prolongs the consummatory feeding. Activation of postsynaptic DRD1LPBN neurons inhibits feeding, whereas genetic deletion of Drd1 within the LPBN causes robust increase in food intake and subsequent weight gain. The DRD1LPBN signaling manifests the central mechanism in methylphenidate-induced hypophagia. Our study illuminates a hindbrain DAergic circuit that controls feeding through dynamic regulation in satiety response and meal structure.