The administration of leptin to leptin-deficient humans, and the analogous Lepob/Lepob mice, effectively reduces hyperphagia and obesity. But common obesity is associated with elevated leptin, which suggests that obese humans are resistant to this adipocyte hormone. In addition to regulating long-term energy balance, leptin also rapidly affects neuronal activity. Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) and neuropeptide-Y types of neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus are both principal sites of leptin receptor expression and the source of potent neuropeptide modulators, melanocortins and neuropeptide Y, which exert opposing effects on feeding and metabolism. These neurons are therefore ideal for characterizing leptin action and the mechanism of leptin resistance; however, their diffuse distribution makes them difficult to study. Here we report electrophysiological recordings on POMC neurons, which we identified by targeted expression of green fluorescent protein in transgenic mice. Leptin increases the frequency of action potentials in the anorexigenic POMC neurons by two mechanisms: depolarization through a nonspecific cation channel; and reduced inhibition by local orexigenic neuropeptide-Y/GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) neurons. Furthermore, we show that melanocortin peptides have an autoinhibitory effect on this circuit. On the basis of our results, we propose an integrated model of leptin action and neuronal architecture in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus.

Food intake is regulated by the hypothalamus, including the melanocortin and neuropeptide Y (NPY) systems in the arcuate nucleus. The NPY Y2 receptor (Y2R), a putative inhibitory presynaptic receptor, is highly expressed on NPY neurons in the arcuate nucleus, which is accessible to peripheral hormones. Peptide YY(3-36) (PYY(3-36)), a Y2R agonist, is released from the gastrointestinal tract postprandially in proportion to the calorie content of a meal. Here we show that peripheral injection of PYY(3-36) in rats inhibits food intake and reduces weight gain. PYY(3-36) also inhibits food intake in mice but not in Y2r-null mice, which suggests that the anorectic effect requires the Y2R. Peripheral administration of PYY(3-36) increases c-Fos immunoreactivity in the arcuate nucleus and decreases hypothalamic Npy messenger RNA. Intra-arcuate injection of PYY(3-36) inhibits food intake. PYY(3-36) also inhibits electrical activity of NPY nerve terminals, thus activating adjacent pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons. In humans, infusion of normal postprandial concentrations of PYY(3-36) significantly decreases appetite and reduces food intake by 33% over 24 h. Thus, postprandial elevation of PYY(3-36) may act through the arcuate nucleus Y2R to inhibit feeding in a gut-hypothalamic pathway.

The gastrointestinal peptide hormone ghrelin stimulates appetite in rodents and humans via hypothalamic actions. We discovered expression of ghrelin in a previously uncharacterized group of neurons adjacent to the third ventricle between the dorsal, ventral, paraventricular, and arcuate hypothalamic nuclei. These neurons send efferents onto key hypothalamic circuits, including those producing neuropeptide Y (NPY), Agouti-related protein (AGRP), proopiomelanocortin (POMC) products, and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). Within the hypothalamus, ghrelin bound mostly on presynaptic terminals of NPY neurons. Using electrophysiological recordings, we found that ghrelin stimulated the activity of arcuate NPY neurons and mimicked the effect of NPY in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVH). We propose that at these sites, release of ghrelin may stimulate the release of orexigenic peptides and neurotransmitters, thus representing a novel regulatory circuit controlling energy homeostasis.