Oxytocin neurons drive melanocortin circuit maturation via vesicle release during a neonatal critical period.

ABSTRACT: The hypothalamus is crucial for regulating essential bodily functions, including energy balance. It is an exceedingly complex and heterogeneous brain region that contains a variety of neuronal systems that are interconnected with each other. Among these, the melanocortin system, which comprises pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons, displays a remarkable anatomical relationship with oxytocin (OT) neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVH). Here, we demonstrate that OT neurons are instrumental in the development of the melanocortin system in mice. Chemogenetic inhibition of OT neurons during the first postnatal week selectively disrupts POMC and AgRP projections to the PVH, without affecting other target nuclei like the dorsomedial nucleus. This development

SUBMITTER: Barelle PY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12633931 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature