Feeding behavior is controlled in part by post-absorptive fuel metabolism. In order for fuel metabolism to affect feeding, the brain must be informed. The liver monitors fuel metabolism and generates signals that the brain uses to control feeding behavior. The overall goal of this project is to understand the operation of this hepatic control of food intake. The experiments proposed in this application will provide important information about hepatic mechanisms that control feeding behavior, and thus will contribute to a fuller understanding of the etiology of overeating, obesity and anorexia, and to the development of appropriate strategies for their prevention and treatment.
Two aims of this project pertain to the neural substrate for the transmission and processing of the hepatic hunger signal(s). Experiments will be performed to: 1) locate the neurons involved in the transmission and processing of hepatic metabolic hunger signals; and 2) determine where different peripheral metabolic hunger signals are integrated to control feeding behavior.
Three aims of the project address questions concerning the hepatic mechanism that mediates satiety in glucose and fat. To address these issues experiments will be conducted to determine whether: 1) the difference in glucose concentration in the blood vessels supplying the liver (hepatic artery and hepatic portal vein) generates a satiety signal; 2) the sensory neurons in the vagus nerves mediate the satiating effect of high concentrations of hepatic portal vein glucose; and 3) the satiating effect of fat is due to its metabolism in the liver. Another aim of this project pertains to which cell types in the liver are the source of hepatic signals that control feeding behavior. To address this, an experiment will be performed to determine whether a metabolic hunger signal originates from hepatocytes.
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