(39)), by contrast, Y2 receptors have not been detected on bone. In addition to effects in bone, Y1 receptors have been considered as important regulators of energy homeostasis, consistent with pharmacological evidence from Y receptor agonists and antagonists to stimulate or inhibit feeding (9). Fasting-induced re-feeding is reduced in germ line Y1 receptor knock-out mice (10), and deletion of Y1 receptors in genetically obese ob/ob mice, in which hypothalamic NPY-ergic activity is chronically increased, significantly reduces food intake and body weight (11). Paradoxically, germ line Y1 receptor knock-out mice develop late-onset obesity in the absence of hyperphagia (10,12,13). One hypothesis to reconcile this apparent discrepancy is that hypothalamic and non-hypothalamic Y1 receptors have different effects on energy homeostasis.Given the clear involvement of Y1 receptors in the regulation of energy homeostasis as well as new evidence of a putative role for Y1 receptors on osteoblast-like cells, we investigated the effect of germ line and conditional (adult-onset, hypothalamus-specific) deletion of Y1 receptors in mice. In addition, the potential interaction between Y1 receptor sig-

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a downstream modulator of leptin action, possibly at the level of the arcuate nucleus where NPY neurons are known to express both leptin receptors and Y2 receptors. In addition to the well-described role of NPY and leptin in energy balance and obesity, intracerebroventricular administration of NPY or leptin also causes bone loss. Here we show that Y2 receptor-deficient mice have a twofold increase in trabecular bone volume as well as greater trabecular number and thickness compared with control mice. We also demonstrate that central Y2 receptors are crucial for this process, since selective deletion of hypothalamic Y2 receptors in mature conditional Y2 knockout mice results in an identical increase in trabecular bone volume within 5 weeks. This hypothalamus-specific Y2 receptor deletion stimulates osteoblast activity and increases the rate of bone mineralization and formation, with no effect on osteoblast or osteoclast surface measurements. The lack of any changes in plasma total calcium, leptinemia, or hypothalamo-pituitary-corticotropic, -thyrotropic, -somatotropic, or -gonadotropic output suggests that Y2 receptors do not modulate bone formation by humoral mechanisms, and that alteration of autonomic function through hypothalamic Y2 receptors may play a key role in a major central regulatory circuit of bone formation.

Vertebrate T cells express either an alpha beta or gamma delta T cell receptor (TCR). The developmental relatedness of the two cell types is unresolved. alpha beta + T cells respond to specific pathogens by collaborating with immunoglobulin-producing B cells in distinct lymphoid organs such as the spleen and Peyer's patches. The precise influence of alpha beta + T cells on B cell development is poorly understood. To investigate the developmental effects of alpha beta + T cells on B cells and gamma delta + T cells, mice homozygous for a disrupted TCR alpha gene were generated. The homozygotes showed elimination of alpha beta + T cells and the loss of thymic medullae. Despite this, gamma delta + T cells developed in normal numbers, and there was an increase in splenic B cells.

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