Hill Jennifer W
Center for Diabetes and Endocrine Research, University of Toledo, College of Medicine, USA.
Open Neuroendocrinol J. 2010;3:21-27. Epub 2010 Feb 22.
Neurons that express pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus suppress feeding and increase energy expenditure in response to circulating adiposity signals such as leptin. Alterations in gene expression may lead to long term modification of this circuit and alterations in body weight. Therefore, understanding how gene expression in these neurons is controlled is crucial to forming a complete picture of the central management of energy balance. This review outlines the heterogeneity of arcuate POMC/CART neurons, describes our current understanding of CART and POMC gene transcription in these neurons, and suggests future directions for extending the field.
在下丘脑弓状核中表达阿黑皮素原（POMC）和可卡因及苯丙胺调节转录肽（CART）的神经元，会响应瘦素等循环脂肪信号来抑制进食并增加能量消耗。基因表达的改变可能会导致该神经回路的长期变化以及体重改变。因此，了解这些神经元中的基因表达是如何被调控的，对于全面了解能量平衡的中枢管理至关重要。本综述概述了弓状核POMC/CART神经元的异质性，描述了我们目前对这些神经元中CART和POMC基因转录的理解，并提出了该领域未来的研究方向。
