Proliferative hypothalamic neurospheres express NPY, AGRP, POMC, CART and Orexin-A and differentiate to functional neurons.

ABSTRACT: Some pathological conditions with feeding pattern alterations, including obesity and Huntington disease (HD) are associated with hypothalamic dysfunction and neuronal cell death. Additionally, the hypothalamus is a neurogenic region with the constitutive capacity to generate new cells of neuronal lineage, in adult rodents. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the expression of feeding-related neuropeptides in hypothalamic progenitor cells and their capacity to differentiate to functional neurons which have been described to be affected by hypothalamic dysfunction. Our study shows that hypothalamic progenitor cells from rat embryos grow as floating neurospheres and express the feeding-related neuropeptides Neuropeptide Y (NPY), Agouti-related Protein (AGRP), Pro-OpioMelanocortin (POM

SUBMITTER: Sousa-Ferreira L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3092771 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature