Department of Endocrinology, Hospital Infantil Universitario Niño Jesús, Instituto de Investigación la Princesa, 28009 Madrid, Spain; CIBEROBN (Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red: Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición), 28009 Madrid, Spain.
Department of Endocrinology, Hospital Infantil Universitario Niño Jesús, Instituto de Investigación la Princesa, 28009 Madrid, Spain; CIBEROBN (Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red: Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición), 28009 Madrid, Spain; Department of Pediatrics, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28009 Madrid, Spain.
Front Neuroendocrinol. 2018 Jan;48:3-12. doi: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2017.05.003. Epub 2017 May 25.
Males and females have distinct propensities to develop obesity and its related comorbidities, partially due to gonadal steroids. There are sex differences in hypothalamic neuronal circuits, as well as in astrocytes, that participate in metabolic control and the development of obesity-associated complications. Astrocytes are involved in nutrient transport and metabolism, glucose sensing, synaptic remodeling and modulation of neuronal signaling. They express receptors for metabolic hormones and mediate effects of these metabolic signals on neurons, with astrogliosis occurring in response to high fat diet and excess weight gain. However, most studies of obesity have focused on males. Recent reports indicate that male and female astrocytes respond differently to metabolic signals and this could be involved in the differential response to high fat diet and the onset of obesity-associated pathologies. Here we focus on the sex differences in response to obesogenic paradigms and the possible role of hypothalamic astrocytes in this phenomenon.
男性和女性在肥胖及其相关并发症的发展上具有明显的倾向性，这部分归因于性腺类固醇。在参与代谢控制和肥胖相关并发症发展的下丘脑神经元回路以及星形胶质细胞中存在性别差异。星形胶质细胞参与营养物质的运输和代谢、葡萄糖感应、突触重塑以及神经元信号的调节。它们表达代谢激素的受体，并介导这些代谢信号对神经元的影响，星形胶质细胞增生发生在高脂肪饮食和体重增加的情况下。然而，大多数肥胖研究都集中在男性上。最近的报告表明，雄性和雌性星形胶质细胞对代谢信号的反应不同，这可能与对高脂肪饮食和肥胖相关病理的不同反应有关。在这里，我们关注肥胖模型中对性别差异的反应，以及下丘脑星形胶质细胞在这一现象中的可能作用。
