Luo Pei, Yang Xiaohua, Xu Qi, How Lau Lee, Torres Irizarry Valeria C, Carrillo-Saenz Leslie, Munoz Marcos David, Dong Wei, Ibrahimi Lucas, Schaul Sarah, Patel Nirali, Antony Nimisha, Dixit Devin, Kota Maya, Freeman Christopher, Cruz Elias L, Wang Chunmei, Pinna Graziano, Jiang Yuwei, Liew Chong Wee, Shu Gang, Ye Hui, He Yanlin, Unterman Terry, Xu Pingwen
Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutritional Regulation, National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, 483 Wushan Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510642, China.
bioRxiv. 2025 Jun 28:2025.06.25.661575. doi: 10.1101/2025.06.25.661575.
The medial preoptic area (MPOA) of the hypothalamus is essential for metabolic adaptation to environmental challenges, though the molecular mechanisms underlying this process remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate the role of Forkhead transcription factor O1 (FoxO1), a key mediator of stress adaptation, in MPOA-dependent metabolic responses to temperature and nutritional changes. Our findings reveal sex-specific responses to both nutritional and temperature challenges. In female mice, but not males, a high-fat diet (HFD) challenge decreased FoxO1 expression in the MPOA. Specific deletion of FoxO1 in MPOA neurons (FoxO1-KO) had no effect on body weight under normal chow-fed conditions but protected females from HFD-induced obesity (DIO). These protected females exhibited increased lean mass, decreased fat mass, enhanced thermogenesis, increased energy expenditure, and reduced food intake under HFD conditions. They also showed enhanced cold-induced heat production at 6°C, though this effect vanished at thermoneutrality (30°C). The protection against DIO was abolished by ovariectomy (OVX) and was not restored by 17β-estradiol supplementation, suggesting an estrogen-independent mechanism. Conversely, constitutive activation of FoxO1 in MPOA neurons (FoxO1-CA) increased DIO susceptibility in both sexes. Together, these findings demonstrate that FoxO1 plays a crucial role in coordinating metabolic adaptation to nutritional and temperature challenges specifically in female mice.
下丘脑内侧视前区(MPOA)对于机体代谢适应环境挑战至关重要,不过这一过程背后的分子机制仍知之甚少。在此,我们研究了应激适应的关键调节因子叉头转录因子O1(FoxO1)在MPOA介导的对温度和营养变化的代谢反应中的作用。我们的研究结果揭示了对营养和温度挑战的性别特异性反应。在雌性小鼠而非雄性小鼠中,高脂饮食(HFD)挑战降低了MPOA中FoxO1的表达。在正常普通饲料喂养条件下,MPOA神经元中FoxO1的特异性缺失(FoxO1-KO)对体重没有影响,但可保护雌性小鼠免受HFD诱导的肥胖(DIO)。这些受到保护的雌性小鼠在HFD条件下表现出瘦体重增加、脂肪量减少、产热增强、能量消耗增加以及食物摄入量减少。它们在6°C时还表现出增强的冷诱导产热,不过这种效应在热中性温度(30°C)时消失。卵巢切除术(OVX)消除了对DIO的保护作用,且补充17β-雌二醇后也未恢复,这表明存在一种不依赖雌激素的机制。相反,MPOA神经元中FoxO1的组成型激活(FoxO1-CA)增加了两性对DIO的易感性。总之,这些发现表明FoxO1在协调机体对营养和温度挑战的代谢适应中发挥关键作用,且这种作用在雌性小鼠中具有特异性。