Endocrine Abstracts

Objectives: Food intake is centrally regulated in hypothalamic nuclei where many G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are expressed which are known to be involved in weight regulation. Peripheral hormonal signals activate their corresponding receptors in the arcuate nucleus. Orexigenic signals activate POMC expression in one subset of neurons and inhibit AgRP and NPY expression in a second subset. Cleavage products of POMC, α- and β-MSH then stimulate melanocortin-4-r...