Zhang Xiaobing, van den Pol Anthony N
Department of Neurosurgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
Science. 2017 May 26;356(6340):853-859. doi: 10.1126/science.aam7100.
The neuronal substrate for binge eating, which can at times lead to obesity, is not clear. We find that optogenetic stimulation of mouse zona incerta (ZI) γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons or their axonal projections to paraventricular thalamus (PVT) excitatory neurons immediately (in 2 to 3 seconds) evoked binge-like eating. Minimal intermittent stimulation led to body weight gain; ZI GABA neuron ablation reduced weight. ZI stimulation generated 35% of normal 24-hour food intake in just 10 minutes. The ZI cells were excited by food deprivation and the gut hunger signal ghrelin. In contrast, stimulation of excitatory axons from the parasubthalamic nucleus to PVT or direct stimulation of PVT glutamate neurons reduced food intake. These data suggest an unexpected robust orexigenic potential for the ZI GABA neurons.
暴饮暴食的神经元基础尚不清楚,暴饮暴食有时会导致肥胖。我们发现,对小鼠未定带(ZI)的γ-氨基丁酸(GABA)能神经元或其向室旁丘脑(PVT)兴奋性神经元的轴突投射进行光遗传学刺激,会立即(在2至3秒内)引发类似暴饮暴食的行为。最小程度的间歇性刺激会导致体重增加;ZI GABA能神经元消融则会减轻体重。ZI刺激在仅10分钟内就产生了正常24小时食物摄入量的35%。ZI细胞会被饥饿和肠道饥饿信号胃饥饿素所激活。相比之下,刺激从丘脑底核到PVT的兴奋性轴突或直接刺激PVT谷氨酸能神经元会减少食物摄入量。这些数据表明,ZI GABA能神经元具有意想不到的强大促食欲潜力。