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Anatomical relationship between specialized astrocytes and leptin‐sensitive neurones
Author(s) -
Young John K.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of anatomy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.932
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1469-7580
pISSN - 0021-8782
DOI - 10.1046/j.1469-7580.2002.00068.x
Subject(s) - arcuate nucleus , hypothalamus , leptin , nucleus , biology , medicine , endocrinology , astrocyte , central nervous system , microbiology and biotechnology , obesity
We have previously reported that a specialized subpopulation of astrocytes in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus show an unusually intense immunoreactivity for brain fatty acid binding protein (bFABP). Since bFABP has been shown to regulate the activity of an enzyme, fatty acid synthase, that has a potent influence upon the regulation of feeding by the hypothalamus, it was of interest to determine if bFABP + astrocytes are positioned to potentially influence the activity of feeding‐regulating neurones. In this study, we examined the anatomical relationship between specialized arcuate astrocytes immunoreactive for bFABP and feeding‐regulating neurones that are responsive to leptin and which are immunoreactive for the transcription factor STAT3. The results show that both cell types are abundant in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus and are frequently closely adjacent to each other. This study provides an anatomical basis for the possibility that specialized arcuate astrocytes regulate the function of leptin‐sensitive, feeding‐regulating neurones of the arcuate nucleus.