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Spatial reorganization of Proopiomelanocortin (POMC)‐expressing Neurons in the Arcuate Nucleus of POMC‐EGFP Mice Resistant or Prone to Obesity
Author(s) -
Tomé Daniel,
Soto Marion,
Chaumontet Catherine,
Guillaumin Mathilde,
Benoit Simon,
Fromentin Gilles,
Andrey Philippe,
Burguet Jasmine,
Darcel Nicolas
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.405.8
Subject(s) - proopiomelanocortin , arcuate nucleus , arc (geometry) , hypothalamus , endocrinology , medicine , energy homeostasis , nucleus , chemistry , green fluorescent protein , sucrose , weight gain , food intake , obesity , biology , body weight , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , gene , geometry , mathematics
Overweight and obesity have been linked to an increased consumption of energy from palatable dense foods enriched in fats, sugars and sucrose‐sweetened beverages. However, susceptibility towards weight gain under an obesogenic diet varies between individuals. Mice have been characterized as obesity‐prone (OP) and obesity‐resistant (OR) in relation with their capacity to gain weight when fed an obesogenic high‐fat high‐sucrose (HFHS) diet. In the brain, the arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus is the main area involved in the control of energy homeostasis. The ARC hosts two key neuronal populations, one of those expressing proopiomelanocortin (POMC), a precursor of various polypeptides with potent anorexigenic activity. This study investigated whether POMC‐specific neuronal density in the ARC was different in OP versus OR mice. For this purpose, 16 C57BL/6J POMC‐EGFP mice (which express the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) concomitantly with POMC) were fed during 11 weeks with a HFHS diet and a 12.6% sucrose‐sweetened drink (SSW) (concentration found in sodas) given at random periods of time for 2h. At the end of this period, 4 OP mice and 4 OR mice were selected, according to their body weight and fat mass gain. Measurement of food and liquid intake showed that OP mice ate more solid food than OR mice. At the end of the experiment, the brains of OR and OP mice were fixed and cut into coronal sections covering the whole hypothalamic area of the ARC. These sections were digitized and analyzed to obtain three‐dimensional reconstructions of the ARC area, using Free‐D original software. The results show no quantitative difference in POMC expression in the ARC between OP and OR mice. However, statistical analysis of 3D reconstructions showed significant differences between OR and OP mice in the spatial organization of POMC‐expressing neurons in the ARC. This study characterizes the synaptic plasticity of POMC neurons between OP and OR mice, that could be a major factor of their difference in susceptibility to weight gain.