Sex-specific resilience of neocortex to food restriction
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Mammals have evolved sex-specific adaptations to reduce energy usage in times of food scarcity. These adaptations are well described for peripheral tissue, though much less is known about how the energy-expensive brain adapts to food restriction, and how such adaptations differ across the sexes. Here, we examined how food restriction impacts energy usage and function in the primary visual cortex (V1) of adult male and female mice. Molecular analysis and RNA sequencing revealed that food restriction modulated canonical, energy-regulating pathways including oxidative phosphorylation, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signalling, significantly in males but not in females V1. Moreover, we found that in contrast to males, food restriction in females non-significantly affected V1 ATP usage and visual coding precision (assessed by orientation selectivity). Decreased serum leptin is necessary for triggering energy-saving changes in male mouse V1 during food restriction. Consistent with this result, we found a significant decrease of serum leptin in food-restricted males but no significant change in food-restricted females. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that cortical function and energy usage in female mice are more resilient to food restriction than in males. The neocortex, therefore, contributes to sex-specific, energy-saving adaptations in response to metabolic challenge.
Project description:Concentrations of leptin decline during food restriction. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that some of the effects of maternal food restriction on placental development are mediated by the loss of leptin. Mice were randomized to 3 treatment groups on day 1.5 of pregnancy: (1) ad libitum fed (control) (2) 50% food restriction (restricted) (3) 50% food restriction with leptin replacement (1µg/g body weight/day) (leptin). On day 11.5 placentas were collected, and two placentas from each mother were pooled for microarray analysis.
Project description:Concentrations of leptin decline during food restriction. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that some of the effects of maternal food restriction on placental development are mediated by the loss of leptin.
Project description:Obesity occurs when energy expenditure is outweighed by food intake. Tuberal hypothalamic nuclei, including the arcuate nucleus (ARC), ventromedial nucleus (VMH), and dorsomedial nucleus (DMH), regulate feeding amount as well as energy expenditure. Here we report that mice lacking circadian nuclear receptors REV-ERBa and b in the tuberal hypothalamus (HDKO) gain excessive weight on an obesogenic diet due both to decreased energy expenditure and increased food consumption during the light phase. Moreover, rebound food intake after fasting is markedly increased in HDKO mice. Integrative transcriptomic and cistromic analyses revealed that such disruption in feeding behavior is due to perturbed REV-ERB-dependent leptin signaling in the ARC. Indeed, in vivo leptin sensitivity is impaired in HDKO mice on an obesogenic diet in a circadian manner. Thus, REV-ERBs play a crucial role in hypothalamic regulation of food intake and circadian leptin sensitivity in diet-induced obesity.
Project description:Obesity occurs when energy expenditure is outweighed by food intake. Tuberal hypothalamic nuclei, including the arcuate nucleus (ARC), ventromedial nucleus (VMH), and dorsomedial nucleus (DMH), regulate feeding amount as well as energy expenditure. Here we report that mice lacking circadian nuclear receptors REV-ERBa and b in the tuberal hypothalamus (HDKO) gain excessive weight on an obesogenic diet due both to decreased energy expenditure and increased food consumption during the light phase. Moreover, rebound food intake after fasting is markedly increased in HDKO mice. Integrative transcriptomic and cistromic analyses revealed that such disruption in feeding behavior is due to perturbed REV-ERB-dependent leptin signaling in the ARC. Indeed, in vivo leptin sensitivity is impaired in HDKO mice on an obesogenic diet in a circadian manner. Thus, REV-ERBs play a crucial role in hypothalamic regulation of food intake and circadian leptin sensitivity in diet-induced obesity.
Project description:Pre- and postnatal calorie restriction is associated with postnatal growth restriction, reduced circulating leptin concentrations and perturbed energy balance. Hypothalamic regulation of energy balance demonstrates enhanced orexigenic (NPY, AgRP) and diminished anorexigenic (POMC, CART) neuropeptide expression (PN21) setting the stage for subsequent development of obesity. Leptin replenishment during the early postnatal period (PN2-PN8) led to reversing the hypothalamic orexigenic:anorexigenic neuropeptide ratio at PN21 by only reducing the orexigenic (NPY, AgRP) without affecting the anorexigenic (POMC, CART) neuropeptide expression. This hypothalamic effect was mediated via enhanced leptin receptor (ObRb) signaling that involved increased pSTAT3 but reduced PTP1B. This was further confirmed by an increase in body weight at PN21 in response to intracerebroventricular administration of antisense ObRb oligonucleotides (PN2-PN8). The change in the hypothalamic neuropeptide balance in response to leptin administration caused increased oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production and physical activity which resulted in increased milk intake (PN14) with no change in body weight. This is in contrast to the reduction in milk intake with no effect on energy expenditure and physical activity observed in controls. We conclude that pre- and postnatal calorie restriction perturbs hypothalamic neuropeptide regulation of energy balance setting the stage for hyperphagia and reduced energy expenditure, hallmarks of obesity. Leptin in turn reverses this phenotype by increasing hypothalamic ObRb signaling (sensitivity) and affecting only the orexigenic arm of the neuropeptide balance.
Project description:Alignment of fasting and feeding with the sleep/wake cycle is coordinated by hypothalamic neurons, though the underlying molecular programs remain incompletely understood. Here we demonstrate that the clock transcription pathway maximizes eating during wakefulness and glucose production during sleep through transcription pathway maximizes eating during autonomous circadian regulation of NPY/AgRP neurons. Tandem profiling of whole cell and ribosome-bound mRNAs in morning and evening under dynamic fasting and fed conditions identified temporal control of activity-dependent gene repertoires in AgRP neurons central to synaptogenesis, bioenergetics, and neurotransmitter and peptidergic signaling. Synaptic and circadian pathways were specific to whole cell RNA analyses, while bioenergetic pathways were selectively enriched in the ribosome-bound transcriptome. Finally, we demonstrate that the AgRP clock mediates the transcriptional food acquisition with sleep/wake state. response to leptin. Our results reveal that time-of-day restriction in transcriptional control of energy-sensing neurons underlies the alignment of hunger and day restriction in transcriptional control of energy-sensing neurons underlies the alignment of hunger and food acquisition with sleep/wake state.
Project description:Background All animals must be able to adapt to changes in nutrient quality and supply. One striking aspect of this adaptive response is the extension of lifespan when caloric intake is reduced. These animals are also more resistant to various stresses, including starvation. We have characterized the response of adult Drosophila males and females to starvation and sugar conditions using high density microarrays. Results We have organized the regulated genes into specific metabolic and physiologic pathways. Most of the highly regulated genes have a strong sex bias. In addition to expected sex specific changes, such as egg production in females, we found unexpected biases in sensory systems, amino acid and purine metabolism, and signaling pathways. Comparison of starvation to caloric restriction revealed numerous overlaps. Conclusions Our results support the notion that starvation response shares similarities to caloric restriction. They have relevance for sex specific differences in longevity and in response to nutrient conditions which alter lifespan. Nutrient Conditions and Fly handling Larvae were kept on apple juice agar plates with yeast, and the larvae were raised at 25°C. For the developmental control larvae were collected 39-41 h AEL, for the developmental time-points at 51-53 hours and every 12 hours until 99-101 hours. Adult flies were kept at 25°C in 50 ml PS-tubes flat bottom (Greiner bio-one, Frickenhausen, Germany) on standard fly food (16.5 g yeast, 81,5 g cornmeal, 8 g agar, 100 ml sugar beet sirup and 200 ml 10% Nipagin in EtOH). Flies were collected that had hatched in 24 hours and kept in groups of ~200 flies/tube. After 5 days we separated males and females and put them in groups of 80/28 ml PS-tube. We allowed for one day CO2 recovery on standard fly food before flies were moved to 1) tubes with yeast paste on PBS soaked filter paper (control) 2) tubes with only PBS soaked filter paper (starvation) or 3) tubes with filter paper soaked in PBS with 20% Sucrose (sugar). After 24 or 48 hours flies were shock frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at - 80°C for further handling. Males and females were assayed separately. For females, we performed 24 and 48 starvation, and 24 and 48 hours sugar. For the males only 24 hour starvation was done, since most died upon 48 hour starvation; and 24 and 48 hour sugar. Briefly, flies were collected within a 24 hour period, allowed to stay together for 4 days, separated into males and females, and allowed one day recovery in normal fly food. Afterwards, the flies were placed into three conditions: fresh yeast plus PBS, PBS or PBS plus 20 % sucrose. These experiments essentially parallel the experimental set up of previous larval experiments (7). The starvation and PBS were then compared with yeast (control).
Project description:Background All animals must be able to adapt to changes in nutrient quality and supply. One striking aspect of this adaptive response is the extension of lifespan when caloric intake is reduced. These animals are also more resistant to various stresses, including starvation. We have characterized the response of adult Drosophila males and females to starvation and sugar conditions using high density microarrays. Results We have organized the regulated genes into specific metabolic and physiologic pathways. Most of the highly regulated genes have a strong sex bias. In addition to expected sex specific changes, such as egg production in females, we found unexpected biases in sensory systems, amino acid and purine metabolism, and signaling pathways. Comparison of starvation to caloric restriction revealed numerous overlaps. Conclusions Our results support the notion that starvation response shares similarities to caloric restriction. They have relevance for sex specific differences in longevity and in response to nutrient conditions which alter lifespan. Nutrient Conditions and Fly handling Larvae were kept on apple juice agar plates with yeast, and the larvae were raised at 25°C. For the developmental control larvae were collected 39-41 h AEL, for the developmental time-points at 51-53 hours and every 12 hours until 99-101 hours. Adult flies were kept at 25°C in 50 ml PS-tubes flat bottom (Greiner bio-one, Frickenhausen, Germany) on standard fly food (16.5 g yeast, 81,5 g cornmeal, 8 g agar, 100 ml sugar beet sirup and 200 ml 10% Nipagin in EtOH). Flies were collected that had hatched in 24 hours and kept in groups of ~200 flies/tube. After 5 days we separated males and females and put them in groups of 80/28 ml PS-tube. We allowed for one day CO2 recovery on standard fly food before flies were moved to 1) tubes with yeast paste on PBS soaked filter paper (control) 2) tubes with only PBS soaked filter paper (starvation) or 3) tubes with filter paper soaked in PBS with 20% Sucrose (sugar). After 24 or 48 hours flies were shock frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at - 80°C for further handling. Males and females were assayed separately. For females, we performed 24 and 48 starvation, and 24 and 48 hours sugar. For the males only 24 hour starvation was done, since most died upon 48 hour starvation; and 24 and 48 hour sugar. Briefly, flies were collected within a 24 hour period, allowed to stay together for 4 days, separated into males and females, and allowed one day recovery in normal fly food. Afterwards, the flies were placed into three conditions: fresh yeast plus PBS, PBS or PBS plus 20 % sucrose. These experiments essentially parallel the experimental set up of previous larval experiments (7). The starvation and PBS were then compared with yeast (control). Keywords: ordered
Project description:Illumina sequencing was used to assay the effect of mifepristone treatment on gene expression in adult Drosophila, including males, virgin females and mated females. Males of strain w[1118]; p53B[6] were crossed to virgins of w[1118]; rtTA(3)E2 and progeny males and virgins were collected over 48 hours. One half of the virgins were mated to w[1118] males at ratio of 1:1 virgins to males for 4 days. Mated females were then separated from the w[1118] males. The mated females, males and virgins females were then maintained at approximately 20 flies per vial, on food with and without supplementation with 160ug/ml mifepristone for 12 days. Total fly RNA was isolated from 20 animals per sample. Three replicate samples were generated for each type of flies: males, mated females and virgin females.
Project description:Anterior pituitary cells are highly active with regards to protein synthesis and secretion, processes which depend heavily on mitochondrial ATP production and functional endoplasmic reticula. It is well known that obesity adds an allostatic overload to tissues, requiring them to adapt to inflammation and oxidative stress. Therefore, we hypothesized that the pituitary is highly vulnerable to the stress of high fat diet-induced weight gain. In this study, we utilized a 10-15 week high fat diet (HFD, 60%) plus a thermoneutral housing paradigm, testing both male and female FVB.129P mice. We quantified serum hormones and cytokines, characterized the metabolic phenotype, and defined changes in the pituitary transcriptome using single-cell RNA-seq. Weight gain was significant by 3 weeks in HFD mice, and by 10 weeks all HFD groups had gained 20 g. HFD females (15 weeks) had increased energy expenditure and decreased activity. All HFD groups showed increases in serum leptin, Il-6, resistin, MCP-1, and TNFα. HFD males had increased insulin; both HFD males and females had increased TSH, and HFD females had decreased serum prolactin and growth hormone (GH) pulse amplitude. Pituitary scRNA-seq revealed modest or no changes in pituitary cell gene expression in the different cell types from HFD males after 10 or 15 weeks or HFD females after 10 weeks. However, females exposed to a HFD for 15 weeks showed significant numbers of differentially expressed genes in lactotropes and stem cells. Pathway analyses identified a reduction in pathways that supported protein translation, ribosome biogenesis, and oxidative phosphorylation, indicating mitochondrial dysfunction. Collectively, these studies reveal that pituitary cells from males are more resilient to the oxidative stress of obesity than females and identify the most vulnerable pituitary cell populations in females.