Emerging roles of brain tanycytes in regulating blood–hypothalamus barrier plasticity and energy homeostasis

Hasni Kannangara, Liam Cullen, Sari Miyashita, Funda Korkmaz, Anne Macdonald, Anisa Gumerova, Ronit Witztum, Ofer Moldavski, Steven Sims, Jocoll Burgess, Tal Frolinger, Rauf Latif, Yelena Ginzburg, Daria Lizneva, Ki Goosens, Terry F. Davies, Tony Yuen, Mone Zaidi, Vitaly Ryu

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Seasonal changes in food intake and adiposity in many animal species are triggered by changes in the photoperiod. These latter changes are faithfully transduced into a biochemical signal by melatonin secreted by the pineal gland. Seasonal variations, encoded by melatonin, are integrated by third ventricular tanycytes of the mediobasal hypothalamus through the detection of the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) released from the pars tuberalis. The mediobasal hypothalamus is a critical brain region that maintains energy homeostasis by acting as an interface between the neural networks of the central nervous system and the periphery to control metabolic functions, including ingestive behavior, energy homeostasis, and reproduction. Among the cells involved in the regulation of energy balance and the blood–hypothalamus barrier (BHB) plasticity are tanycytes. Increasing evidence suggests that anterior pituitary hormones, specifically TSH, traditionally considered to have unitary functions in targeting single endocrine sites, display actions on multiple somatic tissues and central neurons. Notably, modulation of tanycytic TSH receptors seems critical for BHB plasticity in relation to energy homeostasis, but this needs to be proven.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)61-69
Number of pages9
JournalAnnals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Volume1525
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2023

Keywords

  • NPY
  • POMC
  • blood–hypothalamus barrier
  • cerebrospinal fluid
  • epidermal growth factor receptor
  • extracellular signal-regulated kinase
  • fibroblast growth factor 21
  • pituitary glycoprotein hormone receptor
  • tanycyte

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