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The glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) system is a recently established target for type 2 diabetes treatment. In addition to regulating glucose homeostasis, GLP-1 also reduces food intake. Previous studies demonstrate that the anorexigenic effects of GLP-1 can be mediated through hypothalamic and brainstem circuits which regulate homeostatic feeding. Here, we demonstrate an entirely novel neurobiological mechanism for GLP-1-induced anorexia in rats, involving direct effects of a GLP-1 agonist, Exendin-4 (EX4) on food reward that are exerted at the level of the mesolimbic reward system. We assessed the impact of peripheral, central, and intramesolimbic EX4 on two models of food reward: conditioned place preference (CPP) and progressive ratio operant-conditioning. Food-reward behavior was reduced in the CPP test by EX4, as rats no longer preferred an environment previously paired to chocolate pellets. EX4 also decreased motivated behavior for sucrose in a progressive ratio operant-conditioning paradigm when administered peripherally. We show that this effect is mediated centrally, via GLP-1 receptors (GLP-1Rs). GLP-1Rs are expressed in several key nodes of the mesolimbic reward system; however, their function remains unexplored. Thus we sought to determine the neurobiological substrates underlying the food-reward effect. We found that the EX4-mediated inhibition of food reward could be driven from two key mesolimbic structures—ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens—without inducing concurrent malaise or locomotor impairment. The current findings, that activation of central GLP-1Rs strikingly suppresses food reward/motivation by interacting with the mesolimbic system, indicate an entirely novel mechanism by which the GLP-1R stimulation affects feeding-oriented behavior.

Ghrelin, a stomach-derived hormone, is an orexigenic peptide that was recently shown to potently increase food reward behavior. The neurochemical circuitry that links ghrelin to the mesolimbic system and food reward behavior remains unclear. Here we examined the contribution of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and opioids to ghrelin's effects on food motivation and intake. Both systems have well-established links to the mesolimbic ventral tegmental area (VTA) and reward/motivation control. NPY mediates the effect of ghrelin on food intake via activation of NPY-Y1 receptor (NPY-Y1R); their connection with respect to motivated behavior is unexplored. The role of opioids in any aspect of ghrelin's action on food-oriented behaviors is unknown. Rats were trained in a progressive ratio sucrose-induced operant schedule to measure food reward/motivation behavior. Chow intake was measured immediately after the operant test. In separate experiments, we explored the suppressive effects of a selective NPY-Y1R antagonist or opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone, injected either intracerebroventricularly or intra-VTA, on ghrelin-induced food reward behavior. The ventricular ghrelin-induced increase in sucrose-motivated behavior and chow intake were completely blocked by intracerebroventricular pretreatment with either an NPY-Y1R antagonist or naltrexone. The intra-VTA ghrelin-induced sucrose-motivated behavior was blocked only by intra-VTA naltrexone. In contrast, the intra-VTA ghrelin-stimulated chow intake was attenuated only by intra-VTA NPY-Y1 blockade. Finally, ghrelin infusion was associated with an elevated VTA μ-opioid receptor expression. Thus, we identify central NPY and opioid signaling as the necessary mediators of food intake and reward effects of ghrelin and localize these interactions to the mesolimbic VTA.

Here we review the emerging neurobiological understanding of the role of the brain's reward system in the regulation of body weight in health and in disease. Common obesity is characterized by the over-consumption of palatable/rewarding foods, reflecting an imbalance in the relative importance of hedonic versus homeostatic signals. The popular 'incentive salience theory' of food reward recognises not only a hedonic/pleasure component ('liking') but also an incentive motivation component ('wanting' or 'reward-seeking'). Central to the neurobiology of the reward mechanism is the mesoaccumbal dopamine system that confers incentive motivation not only for natural rewards such as food but also by artificial rewards (eg. addictive drugs). Indeed, this mesoaccumbal dopamine system receives and integrates information about the incentive (rewarding) value of foods with information about metabolic status. Problematic over-eating likely reflects a changing balance in the control exerted by hypothalamic versus reward circuits and/or it could reflect an allostatic shift in the hedonic set point for food reward. Certainly, for obesity to prevail, metabolic satiety signals such as leptin and insulin fail to regain control of appetitive brain networks, including those involved in food reward. On the other hand, metabolic control could reflect increased signalling by the stomach-derived orexigenic hormone, ghrelin. We have shown that ghrelin activates the mesoaccumbal dopamine system and that central ghrelin signalling is required for reward from both chemical drugs (eg alcohol) and also from palatable food. Future therapies for problematic over-eating and obesity may include drugs that interfere with incentive motivation, such as ghrelin antagonists.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive brain tumor in adults, and despite state-of-the-art treatment, survival remains poor and novel therapeutics are sorely needed. The aim of the present study was to identify new synergistic drug pairs for GBM. In addition, we aimed to explore differences in drug-drug interactions across multiple GBM-derived cell cultures and predict such differences by use of transcriptional biomarkers. We performed a screen in which we quantified drug-drug interactions for 465 drug pairs in each of the 5 GBM cell lines U87MG, U343MG, U373MG, A172, and T98G. Selected interactions were further tested using isobole-based analysis and validated in 5 glioma-initiating cell cultures. Furthermore, drug interactions were predicted using microarray-based transcriptional profiling in combination with statistical modeling. Of the 5 465 drug pairs, we could define a subset of drug pairs with strong interaction in both standard cell lines and glioma-initiating cell cultures. In particular, a subset of pairs involving the pharmaceutical compounds rimcazole, sertraline, pterostilbene, and gefitinib showed a strong interaction in a majority of the cell cultures tested. Statistical modeling of microarray and interaction data using sparse canonical correlation analysis revealed several predictive biomarkers, which we propose could be of importance in regulating drug pair responses. We identify novel candidate drug pairs for GBM and suggest possibilities to prospectively use transcriptional biomarkers to predict drug interactions in individual cases.

International audience; CONTEXT: Previous studies suggest a role for fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) in the regulation of energy balance. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to investigate whether FGFR1 is an obesity gene by genetic association and functional studies. DESIGN: The study was designed to genotype common FGFR1 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in large cohorts, confirm significant results in additional cohorts, and measure FGFR1 expression in human adipose tissue and in rodent hypothalamus. SETTING: General community and referral centers for specialized care was the setting for the study. PARTICIPANTS: We genotyped FGFR1 SNP in 2438 obese and 2115 lean adults and 985 obese and 532 population-based children. Results were confirmed in 928 obese and 2738 population-based adults and 487 obese and 441 lean children. Abdominal sc adipose tissue was investigated in 202 subjects. We also investigated diet-induced, obese fasting, and fed rats. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We analyzed the association between FGFR1 SNP and obesity. In secondary analyses, we related adipose FGFR1 expression to genotype, obesity, and degree of fat cell differentiation and related hypothalamic FGFR1 to energy balance. RESULTS: FGFR1 rs7012413*T was nominally associated with obesity in all four cohorts; metaanalysis odds ratio = 1.17 (95% confidence interval = 1.10-1.25), and P = 1.8 × 10(-6), which was P = 7.0 × 10(-8) in the recessive model. rs7012413*T was associated with FGFR1 expression in adipose tissue (P < 0.0001). In this organ, but not in skeletal muscle, FGFR1 mRNA (P < 0.0001) and protein (P < 0.05) were increased in obesity. In rats, hypothalamic expression of FGFR1 declined after fasting (P < ]0.001) and increased after diet-induced obesity (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: FGFR1 is a novel obesity gene that may promote obesity by influencing adipose tissue and the hypothalamic control of appetite.

In the present study, we explore the central nervous system mechanism underlying the chronic central effects of ghrelin with respect to increasing body weight and body fat. Specifically, using a recently developed ghrelin receptor antagonist, GHS-R1A (JMV2959), we investigate the role of GHS-R1A in mediating the effects of ghrelin on energy balance and on hypothalamic gene expression. As expected, in adult male rats, chronic central treatment with ghrelin for 14 days, when compared to vehicle-treated control rats, resulted in an increased body weight, lean mass and fat mass (assessed by dual X-ray absorptiometry), dissected white fat pad weight, cumulative food intake, food efficiency, respiratory exchange ratio and a decrease of energy expenditure. Co-administration of the ghrelin receptor antagonist JMV2959 suppressed/blocked the majority of these effects, with the notable exception of ghrelin-induced food intake and food efficiency. The hypothesis emerging from these data, namely that GHS-R1A mediates the chronic effects of ghrelin on fat accumulation, at least partly independent of food intake, is discussed in light of the accompanying data regarding the hypothalamic genes coding for peptides and receptors involved in energy balance regulation, which were found to have altered expression in these studies.

Recent discoveries indicate an important role for ghrelin in drug and alcohol reward and an ability of ghrelin to regulate mesolimbic dopamine activity. The role of dopamine in novelty seeking, and the association between this trait and drug and alcohol abuse, led us to hypothesize that ghrelin may influence novelty seeking behavior. To test this possibility we applied several complementary rodent models of novelty seeking behavior, i.e. inescapable novelty-induced locomotor activity (NILA), novelty-induced place preference and novel object exploration, in rats subjected to acute ghrelin receptor (growth hormone secretagogue receptor; GHSR) stimulation or blockade. Furthermore we assessed the possible association between polymorphisms in the genes encoding ghrelin and GHSR and novelty seeking behavior in humans. The rodent studies indicate an important role for ghrelin in a wide range of novelty seeking behaviors. Ghrelin-injected rats exhibited a higher preference for a novel environment and increased novel object exploration. Conversely, those with GHSR blockade drastically reduced their preference for a novel environment and displayed decreased NILA. Importantly, the mesolimbic ventral tegmental area selective GHSR blockade was sufficient to reduce the NILA response indicating that the mesolimbic GHSRs might play an important role in the observed novelty responses. Moreover, in untreated animals, a striking positive correlation between NILA and sucrose reward behavior was detected. Two GHSR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs2948694 and rs495225, were significantly associated with the personality trait novelty seeking, as assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), in human subjects. This study provides the first evidence for a role of ghrelin in novelty seeking behavior in animals and humans, and also points to an association between food reward and novelty seeking in rodents.

The central ghrelin signaling system engages key pathways of importance for feeding control, recently shown to include those engaged in anxiety-like behavior in rodents. Here we sought to determine whether ghrelin impacts on the central serotonin system, which has an important role in anxiety. We focused on two brain areas, the amygdala (of importance for the mediation of fear and anxiety) and the dorsal raphe (i.e. the site of origin of major afferent serotonin pathways, including those that project to the amygdala). In these brain areas, we measured serotonergic turnover (using HPLC) and the mRNA expression of a number of serotonin-related genes (using real-time PCR). We found that acute central administration of ghrelin to mice increased the serotonergic turnover in the amygdala. It also increased the mRNA expression of a number of serotonin receptors, both in the amygdala and in the dorsal raphe. Studies in ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1A) knock-out mice showed a decreased mRNA expression of serotonergic receptors in both the amygdala and the dorsal raphe, relative to their wild-type littermates. We conclude that the central serotonin system is a target for ghrelin, providing a candidate neurochemical substrate of importance for ghrelin's effects on mood.