Hypothalamic tanycytes generate acute hyperphagia through activation of the arcuate neuronal network
Matei Bolborea, Eric Pollatzek, Heather Benford, Tamara Sotelo-Hitschfeld, Nicholas Dale
Abstract
Significance Tanycytes are nutrient-sensing cells that line the third ventricle within the hypothalamus. The role of tanycytes in the regulation of food intake has not been documented. Indeed, the mechanistic link between nutrient concentrations in the CSF and activation of neurons responsible for the regulation of food intake, such as orexigenic (NPY/AgRP) or anorexigenic (POMC) cells, is not yet clear. Here, we demonstrate that tanycytes, engineered to express channelrhodopsin, can activate arcuate neurons to induce acute hyperphagia when activated by light. These data provide further evidence that tanycytes are an integral link between CSF nutrients and the hypothalamic neuronal networks that regulate appetite and energy balance.