Neurochemical characterization of brainstem Pro-opiomelanocortin cells.

Neurochemical characterization of brainstem Pro-opiomelanocortin cells. Endocrinology. 2020 Mar 13;: Authors: Georgescu T, Lyons D, Doslikova B, Garcia AP, Marston O, Burke LK, Chianese R, Lam BYH, Yeo GSH, Rochford JJ, Garfield AS, Heisler LK Abstract Genetic research has revealed pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) to be a fundamental regulator of energy balance and body weight in mammals. Within the brain, POMC is primarily expressed in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARC), while a smaller population exists in the brainstem nucleus of the solitary tract (POMCNTS). We performed a neurochemical characterization of this understudied population of POMC cells using transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein (eGFP) under the control of a POMC promoter/enhancer (PomceGFP). Expression of endogenous Pomc mRNA in NTS PomceGFP cells was confirmed using fluorescence-activating cell sorting (FACS) followed by quantitative PCR. In situ hybridization histochemistry of endogenous Pomc mRNA and immunohistochemical analysis of eGFP revealed that POMC is primarily localized within the caudal NTS. Neurochemical analysis indicated that POMCNTS is not co-expressed with tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), cholecystokinin (CCK), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nesfatin, nitric oxide synthase 1 (nNOS), seipin or choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) cells, whereas 100% of POMCNTS is co-expressed with transcription f...
Source: Endocrinology - Category: Endocrinology Authors: Tags: Endocrinology Source Type: research