1. Tracing from Fat Tissue, Liver, and Pancreas: A Neuroanatomical Framework for the Role of the Brain in Type 2 Diabetes
- Author
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Felix Kreier, Eric Fliers, Hans P. Sauerwein, Caroline van Heijningen, Ruud M. Buijs, Jan van der Vliet, Yolanda S. Kap, Thomas C. Mettenleiter, Andries Kalsbeek, Johannes A. Romijn, Tytgat Institute for Liver and Intestinal Research, Other departments, AGEM - Amsterdam Gastroenterology Endocrinology Metabolism, and Endocrinology
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Time Factors ,Intra-Abdominal Fat ,Models, Neurological ,Central nervous system ,Hypothalamus ,Adipose tissue ,Biology ,Autonomic Nervous System ,Models, Biological ,Endocrinology ,Internal medicine ,Insulin Secretion ,medicine ,Animals ,Body Fat Distribution ,Homeostasis ,Insulin ,Obesity ,Rats, Wistar ,Pancreas ,Metabolic Syndrome ,Motor Neurons ,Neurons ,Brain ,Amygdala ,Rats ,Disease Models, Animal ,Autonomic nervous system ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Adipose Tissue ,Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ,Liver ,Spinal Cord ,Brainstem ,Brain Stem - Abstract
The hypothalamus uses hormones and the autonomic nervous system to balance energy fluxes in the body. Here we show that the autonomic nervous system has a distinct organization in different body compartments. The same neurons control intraabdominal organs (intraabdominal fat, liver, and pancreas), whereas sc adipose tissue located outside the abdominal compartment receives input from another set of autonomic neurons. This differentiation persists up to preautonomic neurons in the hypothalamus, including the biological clock, that have a distinct organization depending on the body compartment they command. Moreover, we demonstrate a neuronal feedback from adipose tissue that reaches the brainstem. We propose that this compartment-specific organization offers a neuroanatomical perspective for the regional malfunction of organs in type 2 diabetes, where increased insulin secretion by the pancreas and disturbed glucose metabolism in the liver coincide with an augmented metabolic activity of visceral compared with sc adipose tissue.
- Published
- 2006