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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #407149
Research Project: Molecular, Cellular, and Regulatory Aspects of Obesity Development

Location: Children's Nutrition Research Center

Title: AgRP neurons are not indispensable for body weight maintenance in adult mice

Author
item CAI, JING - MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
item CHEN, JING - BEIJING SPORT UNIVERSITY
item ORTIZ-GUZMAN, JOSHUA - BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
item HUANG, JESSICA - MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
item ARENKIEL, BENJAMIN - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC)
item WANG, YUCEHN - UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF CHINA
item ZHANG, YAN - FUDAN UNIVERSITY
item SHI, YUYAN - UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF CHINA
item TONG, QINGCHUN - MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
item ZHAN, CHENG - UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF CHINA

Submitted to: Cell Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/23/2023
Publication Date: 7/8/2023
Citation: Cai, J., Chen, J., Ortiz-Guzman, J., Huang, J., Arenkiel, B.R., Wang, Y., Zhang, Y., Shi, Y., Tong, Q., Zhan, C. 2023. AgRP neurons are not indispensable for body weight maintenance in adult mice. Cell Reports. 42(7). Article 112789. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112789.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112789

Interpretive Summary: Previous studies have identified AgRP neurons as indispensable for proper weight control and viability. In this study we manipulate AgRP neuron activity and genetically ablated them. We found that mice survive in their absence. Together, this work overturns previously accepted functions for AgRP and uncovers new biology underlying feeding control.

Technical Abstract: In addition to their role in promoting feeding and obesity development, hypothalamic arcuate agouti-related protein / neuropeptide Y (AgRP/NPY) neurons are widely perceived to be indispensable for maintaining normal feeding and body weight in adults, and consistently, acute inhibition of AgRP neurons is known to reduce short-term food intake. Here, we adopted complementary methods to achieve nearly complete ablation of arcuate AgRP/NPY neurons in adult mice and report that lesioning arcuate AgRP/NPY neurons in adult mice causes no apparent alterations in ad libitum feeding or body weight. Consistent with previous studies,loss of AgRP/NPY neurons blunts fasting refeeding. Thus, our studies show that AgRP/NPY neurons are not required for maintaining ad libitum feeding or body weight homeostasis in adult mice.