AGRP Neurons Project to the Medial Preoptic Area and Modulate Maternal Nest-Building

作者：Xingyu Li, Ying Han, Wen Zhang, Shao-Ran Wang, Yichao Wei, Shuaishuai Li, Jun-Kai Lin, Jingjing Yan, Ai-Xiao Chen, Xin Zhang, Zhengdong Zhao, Wei L. Shen, Xiaohong Xu · 发表于：Journal of Neuroscience · 年份：2018 · DOI：10.1523/jneurosci.0958-18.2018 · 被引用次数：72 · 研究领域：Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior、Circadian rhythm and melatonin、Infant Health and Development

AGRP (agouti-related neuropeptide) expressing inhibitory neurons sense caloric needs of an animal to coordinate homeostatic feeding. Recent evidence suggests that AGRP neurons also suppress competing actions and motivations to mediate adaptive behavioral selection during starvation. Here, in adult mice of both sexes we show that AGRP neurons form inhibitory synapses onto ∼30% neurons in the medial preoptic area (mPOA), a region critical for maternal care. Remarkably, optogenetically stimulating AGRP neurons decreases maternal nest-building while minimally affecting pup retrieval, partly recapitulating suppression of maternal behaviors during food restriction. In parallel, optogenetically stimulating AGRP projections to the mPOA or to the paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus but not to the LHA (lateral hypothalamus area) similarly decreases maternal nest-building. Chemogenetic inhibition of mPOA neurons that express Vgat (vesicular GABA transporter), the population targeted by AGRP terminals, also decreases maternal nest-building. In comparison, chemogenetic inhibition of neurons in the LHA that express vesicular glutamate transporter 2, another hypothalamic neuronal population critical for feeding and innate drives, is ineffective. Importantly, nest-building during low temperature thermal challenge is not affected by optogenetic stimulation of AGRP→mPOA projections. Finally, via optogenetic activation and inhibition we show that distinctive subsets of mPOA Vgat+ neurons li...