Estrogen receptor-α in medial amygdala neurons regulates body weight.

ABSTRACT: Estrogen receptor-α (ERα) activity in the brain prevents obesity in both males and females. However, the ERα-expressing neural populations that regulate body weight remain to be fully elucidated. Here we showed that single-minded-1 (SIM1) neurons in the medial amygdala (MeA) express abundant levels of ERα. Specific deletion of the gene encoding ERα (Esr1) from SIM1 neurons, which are mostly within the MeA, caused hypoactivity and obesity in both male and female mice fed with regular chow, increased susceptibility to diet-induced obesity (DIO) in males but not in females, and blunted the body weight-lowering effects of a glucagon-like peptide-1-estrogen (GLP-1-estrogen) conjugate. Furthermore, selective adeno-associated virus-mediated deletion of Esr1 in the MeA of adult male mice produced

SUBMITTER: Xu P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4563687 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature