Asprosin is a centrally acting orexigenic hormone.

ABSTRACT: Asprosin is a recently discovered fasting-induced hormone that promotes hepatic glucose production. Here we demonstrate that asprosin in the circulation crosses the blood-brain barrier and directly activates orexigenic AgRP⁺ neurons via a cAMP-dependent pathway. This signaling results in inhibition of downstream anorexigenic proopiomelanocortin (POMC)-positive neurons in a GABA-dependent manner, which then leads to appetite stimulation and a drive to accumulate adiposity and body weight. In humans, a genetic deficiency in asprosin causes a syndrome characterized by low appetite and extreme leanness; this is phenocopied by mice carrying similar mutations and can be fully rescued by asprosin. Furthermore, we found that obese humans and mice had pathologically elevated concentratio

SUBMITTER: Duerrschmid C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5720914 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature