2. Academic Validation
  3. Preoptic BRS3 neurons increase body temperature and heart rate via multiple pathways

Preoptic BRS3 neurons increase body temperature and heart rate via multiple pathways

  • Cell Metab. 2021 Jul 6;33(7):1389-1403.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2021.05.001.
Ramón A Piñol 1,  Allison S Mogul 2,  Colleen K Hadley 2,  Atreyi Saha 2,  Chia Li 2,  Vojtěch Škop 2,  Haley S Province 2,  Cuiying Xiao 2,  Oksana Gavrilova 3,  Michael J Krashes 2,  Marc L Reitman 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: ramon.pinol@nih.gov.
  • 2 Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
  • 3 Mouse Metabolism Core, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
  • 4 Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: marc.reitman@nih.gov.
PMID: 34038711 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2021.05.001
Abstract

The preoptic area (POA) is a key brain region for regulation of body temperature (Tb), dictating thermogenic, cardiovascular, and behavioral responses that control Tb. Previously characterized POA neuronal populations all reduced Tb when activated. Using mice, we now identify POA neurons expressing bombesin-like receptor 3 (POABRS3) as a population whose activation increased Tb; inversely, acute inhibition of these neurons reduced Tb. POABRS3 neurons that project to either the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus or the dorsomedial hypothalamus increased Tb, heart rate, and blood pressure via the sympathetic nervous system. Long-term inactivation of POABRS3 neurons caused increased Tb variability, overshooting both increases and decreases in Tb set point, with RNA expression profiles suggesting multiple types of POABRS3 neurons. Thus, POABRS3 neuronal populations regulate Tb and heart rate, contribute to cold defense, and fine-tune feedback control of Tb. These findings advance understanding of homeothermy, a defining feature of mammalian biology.

Keywords

BRS3; blood pressure; body temperature; bombesin-like receptor 3; heart rate; hypothalamus; preoptic area; sympathetic nervous system; thermoregulation.

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