Abstract：
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) plays a crucial role in controlling energy homeostasis and feeding behaviour. The role of NPY neurons located in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (Arc) in responding to homeostatic signals has been the focus of much investigation, but most studies have used AgRP promoter-driven models, which do not fully encompass Arc NPY neurons. To directly investigate NPY-expressing versus AgRP-expressing Arc neurons function, we utilised chemogenetic techniques in NPY-Cre and AgRP-Cre animals to activate Arc NPY or AgRP neurons in the presence of food and food-related stimuli. Our findings suggest that chemogenetic activation of the broader population of Arc NPY neurons, including AgRP-positive and AgRP-negative NPY neurons, has equivalent effects on feeding behaviour as activation of Arc AgRP neurons. Our results demonstrate that these Arc NPY neurons respond specifically to caloric signals and do not respond to non-caloric signals, in line with what has been observed in AgRP neurons. Activating Arc NPY neurons significantly increases food consumption and influences macronutrient selection to prefer fat intake.
摘要：
神经肽Y（NPY）在控制能量稳态和摄食行为中起着至关重要的作用。位于下丘脑弓状核（Arc）的NPY神经元在响应稳态信号中的作用一直是许多研究的重点。但是大多数研究都使用了AgRP启动子驱动模型，不完全包含ArcNPY神经元。为了直接研究NPY表达与AgRP表达Arc神经元的功能，我们在NPY-Cre和AgRP-Cre动物中利用化学遗传学技术在存在食物和食物相关刺激的情况下激活ArcNPY或AgRP神经元。我们的发现表明，更广泛的ArcNPY神经元群体的化学遗传学激活，包括AgRP阳性和AgRP阴性的NPY神经元，对摄食行为的影响与ArcAgRP神经元的激活相同。我们的结果表明，这些ArcNPY神经元对热量信号有特异性反应，而对非热量信号没有反应。与在AgRP神经元中观察到的一致。激活ArcNPY神经元可显着增加食物消耗并影响大量营养素的选择，从而偏爱脂肪的摄入。
