Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "V. Erspamer", Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy.
School of Pharmacy, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, via Madonna delle Carceri, 9, 62032, Camerino, MC, Italy.
Neuropharmacology. 2020 Jul;171:108082. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.108082. Epub 2020 Apr 4.
The understanding of the biological substrates regulating feeding behavior is relevant to address the health problems related to food overconsumption. Several studies have expanded the conventional view of the homeostatic regulation of body weight mainly orchestrated by the hypothalamus, to include also the non-homeostatic control of appetite. Such processes include food reward and are mainly coordinated by the activation of the central mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway. The identification of endogenous systems acting as a bridge between homoeostatic and non-homeostatic pathways might represent a significant step toward the development of drugs for the treatment of aberrant eating patterns. Oxytocin is a hypothalamic hormone that is directly secreted into the brain and reaches the blood circulation through the neurohypophysis. Oxytocin regulates a variety of physiologic functions, including eating and metabolism. In the last years both preclinical and clinical studies well characterized oxytocin for its effects in reducing food intake and body weight. In the present review we summarize the role played by oxytocin in the control of both homeostatic and non-homeostatic eating, within cognitive, metabolic and reward mechanisms, to mostly highlight its potential therapeutic effects as a new pharmacological approach for the development of drugs for eating disorders. We conclude that the central oxytocinergic system is possibly one of the mechanisms that coordinate energy balance at the crossroads between homeostatic and non-homeostatic mechanisms. This concept should foster studies aimed at exploring the possible exploitation of oxytocin in the treatment of aberrant eating patterns. This article is part of the special issue on Neuropeptides.
理解调节进食行为的生物学基质对于解决与食物过度消耗相关的健康问题至关重要。几项研究扩展了传统的体重稳态调节观点，将食欲的非稳态控制也包括在内。这些过程包括食物奖励，主要由中枢中脑边缘多巴胺能通路的激活来协调。确定作为体内平衡和非体内平衡途径之间桥梁的内源性系统，可能是开发治疗异常进食模式药物的重要一步。
催产素是一种下丘脑激素，直接分泌到大脑中，并通过神经垂体进入血液循环。催产素调节多种生理功能，包括进食和新陈代谢。在过去的几年中，临床前和临床研究都很好地描述了催产素在减少食物摄入和体重方面的作用。在本综述中，我们总结了催产素在控制体内平衡和非体内平衡进食方面的作用，包括认知、代谢和奖励机制，主要强调其作为一种新的药理学方法治疗进食障碍的潜在治疗效果。我们得出结论，中枢催产素能系统可能是协调体内平衡和非体内平衡机制之间能量平衡的机制之一。这一概念应促进探索催产素在治疗异常进食模式中的可能应用的研究。
本文是神经肽特刊的一部分。
