I found this very interesting!
Science 10 June 2011:
Vol. 332 no. 6035 pp. 1330-1332
DOI: 10.1126/science.1201889
Report
Nicotine Decreases Food Intake Through Activation of POMC Neurons
Yann S. Mineur1,
Alfonso Abizaid2,*,
Yan Rao2,
Ramiro Salas3,4,
Ralph J. DiLeone1,
Daniela Gündisch5,
Sabrina Diano2,
Mariella De Biasi3,
Tamas L. Horvath2,
Xiao-Bing Gao2,
Marina R. Picciotto1,
+ Author Affiliations
1Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 34 Park Street, Third Floor Research, New Haven, CT 06508, USA.
2Department of Comparative Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, 34 Park Street, Third Floor Research, New Haven, CT 06508, USA.
3Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
4Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
5Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Hawaii at Hilo, 34 Rainbow Drive, Hilo, HI 96720, USA.
+ Author Notes
* Present address: Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: marina.picciotto@yale.edu
Abstract
Smoking decreases appetite, and smokers often report that they smoke to control their weight. Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the anorexic effects of smoking would facilitate the development of novel treatments to help with smoking cessation and to prevent or treat obesity. By using a combination of pharmacological, molecular genetic, electrophysiological, and feeding studies, we found that activation of hypothalamic α3β4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors leads to activation of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons. POMC neurons and subsequent activation of melanocortin 4 receptors were critical for nicotinic-induced decreases in food intake in mice. This study demonstrates that nicotine decreases food intake and body weight by influencing the hypothalamic melanocortin system and identifies critical molecular and synaptic mechanisms involved in nicotine-induced decreases in appetite.
Received for publication 17 December 2010.
Accepted for publication 11 May 2011.
Science 10 June 2011:
Vol. 332 no. 6035 pp. 1330-1332
DOI: 10.1126/science.1201889
Report
Nicotine Decreases Food Intake Through Activation of POMC Neurons
Yann S. Mineur1,
Alfonso Abizaid2,*,
Yan Rao2,
Ramiro Salas3,4,
Ralph J. DiLeone1,
Daniela Gündisch5,
Sabrina Diano2,
Mariella De Biasi3,
Tamas L. Horvath2,
Xiao-Bing Gao2,
Marina R. Picciotto1,
+ Author Affiliations
1Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 34 Park Street, Third Floor Research, New Haven, CT 06508, USA.
2Department of Comparative Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, 34 Park Street, Third Floor Research, New Haven, CT 06508, USA.
3Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
4Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
5Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Hawaii at Hilo, 34 Rainbow Drive, Hilo, HI 96720, USA.
+ Author Notes
* Present address: Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: marina.picciotto@yale.edu
Abstract
Smoking decreases appetite, and smokers often report that they smoke to control their weight. Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the anorexic effects of smoking would facilitate the development of novel treatments to help with smoking cessation and to prevent or treat obesity. By using a combination of pharmacological, molecular genetic, electrophysiological, and feeding studies, we found that activation of hypothalamic α3β4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors leads to activation of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons. POMC neurons and subsequent activation of melanocortin 4 receptors were critical for nicotinic-induced decreases in food intake in mice. This study demonstrates that nicotine decreases food intake and body weight by influencing the hypothalamic melanocortin system and identifies critical molecular and synaptic mechanisms involved in nicotine-induced decreases in appetite.
Received for publication 17 December 2010.
Accepted for publication 11 May 2011.
