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Objective: The ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH) is a critical component of the forebrain pathways that regulate energy homeostasis. It also plays an important role in the metabolic response to fasting. However, the mechanisms contributing to these physiological processes remain elusive. Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism that maintains cellular homeostasis by turning over cellular components and providing nutrients to the cells during starvation. Here, we investigated the importance of the autophagy-related gene Atg7 in Sf1-expressing neurons of the VMH in control and fasted conditions. Methods: We generated Sf1-Cre; Atg7loxP/loxP mice and examined their metabolic and cellular response to fasting. Results: Fasting induces autophagy in the VMH, and mice lacking Atg7 in Sf1-expressing neurons display altered leptin sensitivity and impaired energy expenditure regulation in response to fasting. Moreover, loss of Atg7 in Sf1 neurons causes alterations in the central response to fasting. Furthermore, alterations in mitochondria morphology and activity are observed in mutant mice. Conclusion: Together, these data show that autophagy is nutritionally regulated in VMH neurons and that VMH autophagy participates in the control of energy homeostasis during fasting.

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is closely linked with metabolic diseases, appetite disorders and obesity at adulthood. Leptin, a major adipokine secreted by adipose tissue, circulates in direct proportion to body fat stores, enters the brain and regulates food intake and energy expenditure. Deficient leptin neuronal signalling favours weight gain by affecting central homeostatic circuitry. The aim of this study was to determine if leptin resistance was programmed by perinatal nutritional environment and to decipher potential cellular mechanisms underneath.We clearly demonstrated that 5 months old IUGR rats develop a decrease of leptin sentivity, characterized by no significant reduction of food intake following an intraperitoneal injection of leptin. Apart from the resistance to leptin injection, results obtained from IUGR rats submitted to rapid catch-up growth differed from those of IUGR rats with no catch-up since we observed, for the first group only, fat accumulation, increased appetite for food rich in fat and increased leptin synthesis. Centrally, the leptin resistant state of both groups was associated with a complex and not always similar changes in leptin receptor signalling steps. Leptin resistance in IUGR rats submitted to rapid catch-up was associated with alteration in AKT and mTOR pathways. Alternatively, in IUGR rats with no catch-up, leptin resistance was associated with low hypothalamic expression of LepRa and LepRb. This study reveals leptin resistance as an early marker of metabolic disorders that appears before any evidence of body weight increase in IUGR rats but whose mechanisms could depend of nutritional environment of the perinatal period.

Overnutrition is associated with hypothalamic ER stress and impaired leptin signaling. Here the authors show that ER stress already occurs in neonates and that treatment with the ER stress relieving drug TUDCA early in life has beneficial metabolic and neurodevelopmental effects.

A mutual interplay exists between adaptive immune system and gut microbiota. Altered gut microbial ecosystems are associated with the metabolic syndrome, occurring in most obese individuals. However, it is unknown why 10–25% of obese individuals are metabolically healthy, while normal weight individuals can develop inflammation and atherosclerosis. We modeled these specific metabolic conditions in mice fed with a chow diet, an obesogenic but not inflammatory diet—mimicking healthy obesity, or Paigen diet—mimicking inflammation in the lean subjects. We analyzed a range of markers and cytokines in the aorta, heart, abdominal fat, liver and spleen, and metagenomics analyses were performed on stool samples. T lymphocytes infiltration was found in the aorta and in the liver upon both diets, however a significant increase in CD4+ and CD8+ cells was found only in the heart of Paigen-fed animals, paralleled by increased expression of IL-1, IL-4, IL-6, IL-17, and IFN-γ. Bacteroidia, Deltaproteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia dominated in mice fed Paigen diet, while Gammaproteobacteria, Delataproteobacteria, and Erysipelotrichia were more abundant in obese mice. Mice reproducing human metabolic exceptions displayed gut microbiota phylogenetically distinct from normal diet-fed mice, and correlated with specific adaptive immune responses. Diet composition thus has a pervasive role in co-regulating adaptive immunity and the diversity of microbiota.