The incidence of juvenile obesity and type 2 diabetes is at an all time high, yet neonatal factors that contribute to these diseases are poorly understood. The long-range goal of this project is to clarify how the adipocyte-derived hormone leptin influences, during the embryonic life, the development of neuroendocrine pathways that control body weight and energy balance in mice. Central to this goal is determining how leptin affects neurogenesis in hypothalamic nuclei known to regulate metabolism throughout the lifespan. The overall hypothesis addressed in this proposal is that leptin acts directly on the hypothalamus during the embryonic life to influence neurogenesis of hypothalamic neurons playing a role in the regulation of body weight and energy balance. We also suggest that alteration of maternal nutrition affects neurogenesis in the hypothalamus of the offspring. Both physiological and in vitro experimental approaches will be used to test these hypotheses by addressing the following specific aims.
Specific Aim 1. We propose to use histochemical techniques and in vitro assays to test the neurogenic activity of leptin in embryos that lack leptin (Lepob/Lepob mice).
Specific Aim 2. We will evaluate the ability of embryonic leptin exposure to functionally rescue neurodevelopmental and metabolic deficits in Lepob/Lepob mice.
Specific Aim 3. Finally, we will explore the developmental consequences of maternal over- and undernutrition on hypothalamic neurogenesis in the offspring and determine whether maternal leptin treatment can influence hypothalamic neurogenesis in the offspring of undernourished (hypoleptinemic) dams. The results of the proposed research will expand our appreciation of leptin to include a profound developmental activity that promotes proliferation of hypothalamic neurons that regulate body weight and energy balance. These studies may also provide new insight into the mechanisms by which alteration of prenatal nutritional environment leads to obesity and diabetes in the offspring, and may provide new therapeutic opportunities.

Public Health Relevance

The long-range goal of this project is to clarify how perinatal hormones, particularly the fat- derived hormone leptin, influence development brain structures involved in appetite regulation and how changes in the maternal environment during critical periods of life may have long-term consequences for regulation of body weight in the offspring. These studies may open new avenues for understanding pre- and perinatally acquired predisposition to later disease (particularly obesity), and may provide new therapeutic opportunities.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DK084142-05
Application #
8694011
Study Section
Neuroendocrinology, Neuroimmunology, and Behavior Study Section (NNB)
Program Officer
Hyde, James F
Project Start
2010-08-10
Project End
2015-06-30
Budget Start
2014-07-01
Budget End
2015-06-30
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90027
Croizier, Sophie; Park, Soyoung; Maillard, Julien et al. (2018) Central Dicer-miR-103/107 controls developmental switch of POMC progenitors into NPY neurons and impacts glucose homeostasis. Elife 7:
Dearden, Laura; Bouret, Sebastien G; Ozanne, Susan E (2018) Sex and gender differences in developmental programming of metabolism. Mol Metab 15:8-19
Croizier, Sophie; Prevot, Vincent; Bouret, Sebastien G (2016) Leptin Controls Parasympathetic Wiring of the Pancreas during Embryonic Life. Cell Rep 15:36-44
Zigman, Jeffrey M; Bouret, Sebastien G; Andrews, Zane B (2016) Obesity Impairs the Action of the Neuroendocrine Ghrelin System. Trends Endocrinol Metab 27:54-63
Maillard, Julien; Park, Soyoung; Croizier, Sophie et al. (2016) Loss of Magel2 impairs the development of hypothalamic Anorexigenic circuits. Hum Mol Genet 25:3208-3215
Steculorum, Sophie M; Collden, Gustav; Coupe, Berengere et al. (2015) Neonatal ghrelin programs development of hypothalamic feeding circuits. J Clin Invest 125:846-58
Bouret, Sebastien; Levin, Barry E; Ozanne, Susan E (2015) Gene-environment interactions controlling energy and glucose homeostasis and the developmental origins of obesity. Physiol Rev 95:47-82
Collden, Gustav; Balland, Eglantine; Parkash, Jyoti et al. (2015) Neonatal overnutrition causes early alterations in the central response to peripheral ghrelin. Mol Metab 4:15-24
Kayser, Brandon D; Goran, Michael I; Bouret, Sebastien G (2015) Perinatal overnutrition exacerbates adipose tissue inflammation caused by high-fat feeding in C57BL/6J mice. PLoS One 10:e0121954
Balland, Eglantine; Dam, Julie; Langlet, Fanny et al. (2014) Hypothalamic tanycytes are an ERK-gated conduit for leptin into the brain. Cell Metab 19:293-301

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