Department of Mouse Genetics and Metabolism, Institute for Genetics, Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging Associated Diseases (CECAD), Germany.
Front Neuroendocrinol. 2010 Jan;31(1):4-15. doi: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2009.08.002. Epub 2009 Sep 1.
Body weight is tightly controlled in a species-specific range from insects to vertebrates and organisms have developed a complex regulatory network in order to avoid either excessive weight gain or chronic weight loss. Energy homeostasis, a term comprising all processes that aim to maintain stability of the metabolic state, requires a constant communication of the different organs involved; i.e. adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, liver, pancreas and the central nervous system (CNS). A tight hormonal network ensures rapid communication to control initiation and cessation of eating, nutrient processing and partitioning of the available energy within different organs and metabolic pathways. Moreover, recent experiments indicate that many of these homeostatic signals modulate the neural circuitry of food reward and motivation. Disturbances in each individual system can affect the maintenance and regulation of the others, making the analysis of energy homeostasis and its dysregulation highly complex. Though this cross-talk has been intensively studied for many years now, we are far from a complete understanding of how energy balance is maintained and multiple key questions remain unanswered. This review summarizes some of the latest developments in the field and focuses on the effects of leptin, insulin, and nutrient-related signals in the central regulation of feeding behavior. The integrated view, how these signals interact and the definition of functional neurocircuits in control of energy homeostasis, will ultimately help to develop new therapeutic interventions within the current obesity epidemic.
体重在从昆虫到脊椎动物的特定物种范围内受到严格控制，为了避免体重过度增加或慢性体重下降，生物体已经发展出了一个复杂的调节网络。能量平衡是一个包含所有旨在维持代谢状态稳定的过程的术语，需要涉及的不同器官之间进行持续的沟通；即脂肪组织、骨骼肌、肝脏、胰腺和中枢神经系统（CNS）。一个紧密的激素网络确保了快速的通讯，以控制进食的开始和停止、营养处理以及不同器官和代谢途径中可用能量的分配。此外，最近的实验表明，许多这些体内平衡信号调节食物奖励和动机的神经回路。每个单独系统的紊乱都会影响其他系统的维持和调节，使得能量平衡及其失调的分析变得非常复杂。尽管这种串扰已经研究了很多年，但我们远未完全理解能量平衡是如何维持的，还有许多关键问题尚未得到解答。这篇综述总结了该领域的一些最新进展，并重点介绍了瘦素、胰岛素和与营养相关的信号在中枢对进食行为的调节中的作用。这些信号如何相互作用以及控制能量平衡的功能性神经回路的定义的综合观点，将最终有助于在当前肥胖症流行中开发新的治疗干预措施。
