Novel insight in distribution of nesfatin-1 and phospho-mTOR in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus of rats

Peptides. 2010 Feb;31(2):257-62. doi: 10.1016/j.peptides.2009.11.024. Epub 2009 Dec 2.

Abstract

Recently, two proteins have been localized in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) and implicated in the regulation of food intake: the serine-threonine-kinase mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) as part of the TOR signaling complex 1 (TORC1), and nesfatin-1 derived from the precursor protein nucleobindin2. However, the exact cell types are not well described. Therefore, we performed double-labeling studies for NPY, CART, nesfatin-1 and pmTOR in the ARC. In this study, we showed that nesfatin-1 is not only intracellularly co-localized with cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) peptide as reported before, but also with phospho-mTOR (pmTOR) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) in ARC neurons. Quantification revealed that 59+/-5% of the pmTOR-immunoreactive (ir) neurons were immunoreactive for nesfatin-1. Moreover, double labeling for nesfatin-1 and NPY exhibited that 19+/-5% of the NPY positive cells were also immunoreactive for nesfatin-1. Furthermore, we could also confirm results from previous studies, showing that the majority of nesfatin-1 neurons are also positive for CART peptide, whereas most of the pmTOR is co-localized with NPY and only to a lesser extent with CART.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Arcuate Nucleus of Hypothalamus / cytology
  • Arcuate Nucleus of Hypothalamus / metabolism*
  • Calcium-Binding Proteins
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / metabolism*
  • Male
  • Microscopy, Confocal
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / metabolism*
  • Neurons / metabolism
  • Neuropeptide Y / metabolism
  • Nucleobindins
  • Phosphorylation
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism*
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases

Substances

  • Calcium-Binding Proteins
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Neuropeptide Y
  • Nucb1 protein, rat
  • Nucleobindins
  • cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript protein
  • mTOR protein, rat
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases