Regulation of the Reproductive and Stress Axes by the Metabolic Signal, Leptin.

摘要 IBN 97-28032 PI = THOMPSON，ROBERT C. 瘦素对生殖和应激轴的调节 食物供应影响生殖功能。 理解以及许多其他身体功能的关键在于我们理解大脑如何收集食物可用性信息的能力。最近，一种叫做瘦素的激素的发现填补了我们对食物供应如何控制生殖的理解中的一个主要空白。 在大多数动物中，血液中的瘦素浓度在餐后增加，向大脑报告饱腹感信号。 大脑究竟是如何感受到这些饱足感信号的，比如瘦素，现在才刚刚开始被理解。 汤普森博士将确定大脑如何感知瘦素，更具体地说，将这种瘦素信息传达给控制生殖功能的大脑中心。 在这项研究计划中测试的一个假设是，有关食物可获得性改变的信息通过参与感知“压力”的大脑中心传递到生殖大脑中心。 这个想法是在来自不同背景的研究表明两点时产生的。 首先，压力或压力经历对生殖系统有负面影响。 第二，在食物供应非常低的情况下，控制压力的大脑系统被激活。 因此，粮食供应非常短缺的情况是紧张的。 然而，很少有人知道，如果这些压力系统的激活是有关严重减少的食物供应的信息传达到生殖系统的路径。 本项目将对此进行审查。 此外，除了瘦素之外，许多分子还充当“食物信号”。另一个信号是葡萄糖。 不同的食物信号是否通过相同的途径传递到生殖系统，或者每种食物信号都有独特的途径？ 使用类似的逻辑，所有压力情况或条件都会受到食物信号的影响吗？ 汤普森博士将探索这些问题，并将利用这项工作中开发的信息进一步了解大脑如何使用食物信息来控制生殖功能。

ABSTRACT IBN 97-28032 PI = THOMPSON, ROBERT C. Regulation of Reproductive and Stress Axes by the Metabolic Signal, Leptin Food availability affects reproductive function. Key to understanding as well as many other bodily functions, lies in our ability to understand how the brain gathers information on the availability of food. A major gap in our understanding of how food availability controls reproduction was filled recently with the discovery of a hormone called leptin. Blood leptin concentrations increase after meals in most animals reporting to the brain a satiety signal. Exactly how the brain senses these satiety signals like leptin is only beginning to be understood. Dr. Thompson will determine how the brain senses leptin and more specifically, communicates this leptin information to brain centers that control reproductive function. One hypothesis tested in this research plan is that information about altered food availability is relayed to the reproductive brain centers via brain centers that are involved in sensing "stress". This idea arose when researches from different backgrounds demonstrated two points. First, stress or stressful experiences have negative effects upon reproductive systems. Second, during conditions where food availability is very low, brain systems known to control stress are activated. Thus, conditions where food is in very short supply are stressful. However, little is known if the activation of these stress systems is the path by which information concerning severely reduced food availability is communicated to reproductive systems. This will be examined in this project. Additionally, many molecules in addition to leptin serve as "food signals". One other signal is glucose. Do different food signals communicate to the reproductive system using the same pathways or are there unique pathways for each food signal? Using similar logic, are all stressful situations or conditions influence d by food signals? Dr. Thompson will explore these questions and information developed in this work will be used to further understand how the brain uses food information to control reproductive function.