Topic: glucose tolerance

GFRAL-expressing neurons actuate aversion and nausea, are targets for obesity treatment and may mediate metformin effects by long-term GDF15-GFRAL agonism. If GFRAL+ neurons acutely regulate glucose and energy homeostasis is however underexplored. Here, we report that cell-specific activation of GFRAL+ neurons using a variety of techniques causes a torpor-like state, including hypothermia, the release of stress hormones, a shift from glucose to lipid oxidation, and impaired insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance and skeletal muscle glucose uptake but augmented glucose uptake in visceral fat. M

The hypothalamus is a complex structure involved in different body functions including the control of feeding and body energy expenditure. The arcuate nucleus (ARC), in particular, is a critical nucleus involved in these processes.In the brain, the communication and the interactions between glial and neuronal cells are fundamental in maintaining the brain metabolic homeostasis1.In particular, the Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid cells 2 (Trem2), an immune receptor expressed in the brain microglia, has recently emerged as central in controlling the metabolic fitness of neurons in the de