SUMMARY Hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons promote satiety. Cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R) is critical for central regulation of food intake. We interrogated whether CB1R-controlled feeding is paralleled by decreased activity of POMC neurons. Chemical promotion of CB1R activity increased feeding, and strikingly, CB1R activation also promoted neuronal activity of POMC cells. This paradoxical increase in POMC activity was crucial for CB1R-induced feeding, because Designer-Receptors-Exclusively-Activated-by-Designer-Drugs (DREADD)-mediated inhibition of POMC neurons diminished, while DREADD-mediated activation of POMC neurons enhanced CB1R-driven feeding. The Pomc gene encodes both the anorexigenic peptide, α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH), and the peptide, β-endorphin. CB1R activation selectively increased β-endorphin but not α-MSH release in the hypothalamus, and, systemic or hypothalamic administration of the opioid receptor antagonist, naloxone, blocked acute CB1R-induced feeding. These processes involved mitochondrial adaptations, which, when blocked, abolished CB1R-induced cellular responses and feeding. Together, these results unmasked a previously unsuspected role of POMC neurons in promotion of feeding by cannabinoids.

Endothelial dysfunction caused by HFD is related to a dysfunctional endothelial AMPK-PI3K-Akt-eNOS pathway correlating with the increase of plasma NEFA, TG, and an impaired glucose management.

Long-term consumption of a high-fat diet (HFD) has been shown to trigger both metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. In contrast, the effect of this type of dietary regime on the central nervous system, particularly outside the hypothalamus, has been investigated poorly. Astrocytes, the most abundant population of glial cells in the brain, are pivotal in regulating glutamatergic transmission as they are responsible for most of the glutamate uptake and metabolism. Mice on an HFD show deficits in learning and memory, together with neurochemical and electrophysiological changes compatible with the impairment in hippocampal glutamatergic activity. Because astrocyte function and morphology have been shown to be interdependent, we speculated whether HFD would trigger changes in astrocyte morphology. For this purpose, we have used a model of diet-induced obesity in mice. We have analyzed astrocyte morphology and density by glial fibrillary acidic protein immunohistochemistry, as well as the expression of the glutamate transporters, GLT-1 (glutamate transporter type-1), and GLAST (astrocyte glutamate transporter), in the CA3 area of the hippocampus. We found that astrocytes from HFD mice showed longer and less abundant projections. These changes were accompanied by the upregulation of both GLT-1 and GLAST. Our data show that the functional impairment detected previously in HFD mice is concomitant with morphological changes within the hippocampus.

Our data show that the PFC participates in driving motivational feeding during HFD-evoked hyperphagia and also suggest that sensory neural pathways might be relevant for the onset of eating disorders and overweight. Moreover, we have observed that animals that had the possibility of choosing between standard chow and HFD were more hyperphagic and specifically displayed an overexpression of the tyrosine hydroxylase gene.