Sexual dimorphism exists in body weight balance, but underlying mechanisms remain elusive. We screened a number of neural populations that are known to play key roles in the regulation of energy homeostasis, and found that hypothalamic neurons expressing pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) display sex differences in two fundamental functions: (1) expressing the Pomc gene and (2) firing action potentials. In particular, female POMC neurons express more Pomc gene and firing more frequently than male POMC neurons. Mechanisms for this sexual dimorphism are not clear and little is known about whether these sex differences contribute to sexually dimorphic regulation of energy balance. Through POMC neuron-specific transcriptome analyses, we identified a number of genes that are expressed in a sexually dimorphic fashion. These include TAp63 (a transcription factor) which is dominant in female POMC neurons, as well as Gabra5 (a GABAA receptor subunit) and SK3 (a small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channel) which are both dominant in male POMC neurons. Three mutant mice will be generated to have each of these three genes deleted specifically in POMC neurons, respectively. These mouse strains (both males and females) will be used to determine the physiological roles of these three genes in regulating POMC neuron firing and/or Pomc gene expression, and in maintaining energy homeostasis in different sexes. The functional interactions between these sexually dimorphic genes with the sex hormones will also be examined. Results from these studies will test a hypothesis that multiple sexually dimorphic genes in POMC neurons contribute to the sex differences in POMC neuron functions and body weight balance.
We observed that the hypothalamic POMC neurons show different functions (firing and gene expression) in male vs. female brains, and deletion of one transcription factor, namely TAp63, diminished these sex differences in POMC neuron functions and sex differences in body weight response to an obesogenic diet feeding. We propose to identify additional molecular mediators in POMC neurons that are critical for the maintenance of sex differences in energy balance.
| Wang, Chunmei; He, Yanlin; Xu, Pingwen et al. (2018) TAp63 contributes to sexual dimorphism in POMC neuron functions and energy homeostasis. Nat Commun 9:1544 |
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