Regulation of food intake through hypothalamic signaling networks involving mTOR.
Annu. Rev. Nutr.. 2008-08-01; 28(1): 295-311
DOI: 10.1146/annurev.nutr.28.061807.155505
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1. Annu Rev Nutr. 2008;28:295-311. doi: 10.1146/annurev.nutr.28.061807.155505.
Regulation of food intake through hypothalamic signaling networks involving mTOR.
Woods SC(1), Seeley RJ, Cota D.
Author information:
(1)Department of Psychiatry, Genome Research Institute, University of Cincinnati,
Cincinnati, Ohio 45237, USA.
To maintain normal activity, single cells must assure that their energy needs and
utilization are continuously matched. Likewise, multicellular organisms must
constantly coordinate energy intake and expenditure to maintain energy
homeostasis. The brain, and the hypothalamus in particular, plays a critical role
in integrating and coordinating several types of signals, including hormones and
nutrients, to guarantee such homeostasis. Like single cells, the hypothalamus
also profits from intracellular pathways known to work as fuel sensors to
maintain energy balance. One such pathway is the mammalian target of rapamycin
(mTOR). mTOR integrates different sensory inputs to regulate protein synthesis
rates in individual cells, and it has recently been implicated in the central
nervous system to regulate food intake and body weight as well. This review
provides an overview of the role of hypothalamic intracellular fuel sensors in
the overall control of energy balance and discusses the potential contribution of
these fuel-sensing mechanisms to the metabolic dysregulation associated with
obesity.
DOI: 10.1146/annurev.nutr.28.061807.155505
PMID: 18429698 [Indexed for MEDLINE]