Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) produced by neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) has an important role in the regulation of energy homeostasis by establishing circulating levels of thyroid hormone under normal conditions and during special circumstances when metabolic adaptation is necessary such as fasting, infection and chronic illnesses. Mechanisms whereby metabolic signals regulate TRH neurons in the PVN will be explored, facilitated by the use of the Cre/loxP recombinase system in transgenic mice in which Cre-recombinase is expressed selectively in TRH cells. Attention will be given to the importance of direct vs indirect leptin signaling during fasting and in association with diet-induced obesity, the role of AGRP as an inverse agonist at MC-4 receptors, participation of CREB, ERK and AMPK signaling pathways as mediators of leptin's diverse actions on hypophysiotropic TRH neurons, and cannabinoid/glutamate interactions as a novel mechanism involved in fasting-induced suppression the HPT axis. The importance of the hypothalamic dorsomedial nucleus (DMN) as a relay station between the arcuate nucleus and TRH neurons in the PVN will be explored and the hypothesis tested that the DMN integrates signals from leptin- responsive arcuate nucleus neurons and the subparaventricular zone to give rise to the circadian periodicity of the HPT axis. Mechanisms by which endotoxin suppress hypophysiotropic TRH neurons will also be studied, focusing on effects mediated by cAMP-response element modulator (CREM), inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER), corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and the role of increased T3 levels in the mediobasal hypothalamus as a result of endotoxin-induced increased type 2 iodothyronine deiodinase levels in tanycytes. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) plays a major role in energy homeostasis by establishing circulating levels of thyroid hormone under normal conditions and during special circumstances such as fasting and critical illness when changes in thyroid status are required for adaptation. The proposed studies will elucidate how this specialized group of neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus is regulated by metabolic signals and the neuroanatomical pathways and modulators involved, providing insight into disorders commonly referred to as the nonthyroidal illness syndrome.
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