AgRP and NPY expression in the human hypothalamic infundibular nucleus correlate with body mass index, whereas changes in αMSH are related to type 2 diabetes
A Alkemade, CX Yi, L Pei, M Harakalova… - The Journal of …, 2012 - academic.oup.com
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2012•academic.oup.com
Context: Rodent data show that altered hypothalamic signaling contributes to the
development of obesity and insulin resistance. Objective: To determine differences in
hypothalamic expression levels of neuropeptide Y (NPY), agouti-related peptide (AgRP),
and αMSH in the infundibular nucleus, the human equivalent of the arcuate nucleus, in
relation to body mass index (BMI). In addition, the expression in the infundibular nucleus of
eight subjects diagnosed with type 2 diabetes was measured to determine possible …
development of obesity and insulin resistance. Objective: To determine differences in
hypothalamic expression levels of neuropeptide Y (NPY), agouti-related peptide (AgRP),
and αMSH in the infundibular nucleus, the human equivalent of the arcuate nucleus, in
relation to body mass index (BMI). In addition, the expression in the infundibular nucleus of
eight subjects diagnosed with type 2 diabetes was measured to determine possible …
Context
Rodent data show that altered hypothalamic signaling contributes to the development of obesity and insulin resistance.
Objective
To determine differences in hypothalamic expression levels of neuropeptide Y (NPY), agouti-related peptide (AgRP), and αMSH in the infundibular nucleus, the human equivalent of the arcuate nucleus, in relation to body mass index (BMI). In addition, the expression in the infundibular nucleus of eight subjects diagnosed with type 2 diabetes was measured to determine possible interference of type 2 diabetes with the association observed between neuropeptides and BMI.
Design
We studied AgRP, NPY, and αMSH expression by means of quantitative immunocytochemistry in postmortem hypothalami of 30 subjects with known BMI. In separate experiments, we compared neuropeptide expression in eight subjects with type 2 diabetes with eight matched controls.
Results
We found that AgRP immunoreactivity showed a U-shaped correlation with BMI. No evidence was found for possible influences of corticosteroid treatment. NPY immunoreactivity was significantly lower in overweight and obese subjects. αMSH did not correlate with BMI but was significantly lower in subjects with type 2 diabetes compared with controls. By contrast, NPY and AgRP expression was not affected in type 2 diabetes.
Conclusion
Our results indicate that the expression of AgRP and NPY are correlated with body weight changes, rather than the presence of type 2 diabetes, whereas changes in αMSH immunoreactivity are related to the presence of type 2 diabetes, indicating separate hypothalamic mechanisms.
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