Estrogenic-dependent glutamatergic neurotransmission from kisspeptin neurons governs feeding circuits in females.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30079889.
- Also identified by DOI 10.7554/eLife.35656 and PMC identifier 6103748.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The neuropeptides tachykinin2 (Tac2) and kisspeptin (Kiss1) in hypothalamic arcuate nucleus Kiss1 (Kiss1<sup>ARH</sup>) neurons are essential for pulsatile release of GnRH and reproduction. Since 17β-estradiol (E2) decreases <i>Kiss1 and Tac2</i> mRNA expression in Kiss1<sup>ARH</sup> neurons, the role of Kiss1<sup>ARH</sup> neurons during E2-driven anorexigenic states and their coordination of POMC and NPY/AgRP feeding circuits have been largely ignored. Presently, we show that E2 augmented the excitability of Kiss1<sup>ARH</sup> neurons by amplifying <i>Cacna1g, Hcn1 and Hcn2</i> mRNA expression and T-type calcium and h-currents. E2 increased <i>Slc17a6</i> mRNA expression and glutamatergic synaptic input to arcuate neurons, which excited POMC and inhibited NPY/AgRP neurons via metabotropic receptors. Deleting <i>Slc17a6</i> in Kiss1 neurons eliminated glutamate release and led to conditioned place preference for sucrose in E2-treated KO female mice. Therefore, the E2-driven increase in Kiss1 neuronal excitability and glutamate neurotransmission may play a key role in governing the motivational drive for palatable food in females.
Medical subject headings
- Kisspeptins
- Neurons
- Protein Precursors
- Tachykinins
- Vesicular Glutamate Transport Protein 2