Division of Hypothalamic Research, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, TX, USA ; Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, TX, USA.
Front Neurosci. 2013 May 7;7:71. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2013.00071. eCollection 2013.
Obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic complications are growing concerns for public health and could lead to detrimental life-threatening conditions. Neurons whose activities are required for energy and glucose homeostasis are found in a number of hypothalamic nuclei. In the early twentieth century, the ventral medial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH) was the first site reported to play a prominent role in the regulation of energy homeostasis through control of food intake and energy expenditure. Recent studies using sophisticated genetic tools have further highlighted the importance of the VMH and have extended our understanding of the physiological role of the nucleus in regulation of energy homeostasis. These genetic studies were preceded by the identification of steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1) as a marker of the VMH. This review focuses on the emerging homeostatic roles of the SF-1 neurons in the VMH discovered through the use of genetic models, particularly highlighting the control of energy, and glucose homeostasis.
肥胖、糖尿病和其他代谢并发症是当前公共健康的主要关注点，可能会导致危及生命的严重后果。参与能量和葡萄糖稳态调节的神经元存在于多个下丘脑核团中。早在 20 世纪初，下丘脑腹内侧核（VMH）就被首次报道在调节能量稳态方面发挥着重要作用，通过控制食物摄入和能量消耗来实现这一功能。最近，利用复杂的遗传工具进行的研究进一步强调了 VMH 的重要性，并加深了我们对该核团在调节能量稳态方面的生理作用的理解。这些遗传研究之前，类固醇生成因子-1（SF-1）被鉴定为 VMH 的标志物。本综述重点介绍了通过遗传模型发现的 VMH 中 SF-1 神经元的新兴稳态作用，特别是强调了对能量和葡萄糖稳态的控制作用。
