Elsevier

Neuroscience Letters

Volume 452, Issue 3, 20 March 2009, Pages 241-246
Neuroscience Letters

Nesfatin-1 immunoreactivity in rat brain and spinal cord autonomic nuclei

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2009.01.064Get rights and content

Abstract

Nesfatin-1 is one of the peptide products of posttranslational processing of the nucleobindin-2 (NUCB2) gene, suggested to have physiological relevance to suppress food intake and body weight gain in rats. Nesfatin-1-immunoreactive cells have been found in distinct nuclei in the rat brain related to circuitries regulating food intake. Here, we report novel yet undescribed localization of NUCB2/nesfatin-1 at the mRNA and protein level in the rat central nervous system. Immunohistochemical staining revealed the localization of NUCB2/nesfatin-1 in the piriform and insular cortex, endopiriform nucleus, nucleus accumbens, lateral septum, bed nucleus of stria terminalis, central amygdaloid nucleus, medial preoptic area, dorsal raphe nucleus, ambiguus nucleus, ventrolateral medulla and gigantocellular reticular nucleus, as well as Purkinje-cells of the cerebellum. In the spinal cord, nesfatin-1 immunoreactivity (IR) was found in both sympathetic and parasympathetic preganglionic neuronal groups and in the dorsal area X from lower thoracic to sacral segments. The immunohistochemical results were confirmed by RT-PCR in the central amygdaloid nucleus, nucleus accumbens, cerebellum and lumbar spinal cord microdissected by punch technique. The features and distributions of nesfatin-1 IR and mRNA expression in the brain and spinal cord suggest that NUCB2/nesfatin-1 could play a wider role in autonomic regulation of visceral-endocrine functions besides food intake.

Section snippets

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by German Research Foundation grant GO 1718/1-1 (M.G.), grant STE 1765/1-1 (A.S.) and the VA Research Career Scientist Award, Department of Veterans Affairs Merit Award (Y.T.), NIHDK 33061 (Y.T.) and Center grant DK-41301 (Animal Core, Y.T.). We are grateful to Mrs. Honghui Liang for her excellent technical support.

References (25)

  • L. Wang et al.

    Peripheral ghrelin selectively increases Fos expression in neuropeptide Y—synthesizing neurons in mouse hypothalamic arcuate nucleus

    Neurosci. Lett.

    (2002)
  • G.C. Brailoiu et al.

    Nesfatin-1: distribution and interaction with a G protein-coupled receptor in the rat brain

    Endocrinology

    (2007)
  • Cited by (172)

    • Interactions between nesfatin-1 and the autonomic nervous system—An overview

      2022, Peptides
      Citation Excerpt :

      In another study, three quarters of NUCB2/nesfatin-1 immunoreactive neurons were observed in the lateral half of the tuberal hypothalamic area [27]. Several groups of NUCB2/nesfatin-1 immunoreactive neurons were found in the midbrain and brainstem, especially in the Edinger Westphal nucleus [4,25,26], in certain raphe nuclei [3,4,25,26], and further in the locus coeruleus [4,26]. Furthermore, functional mapping of c-Fos expression to mark neuronal activity revealed increased levels of nesfatin-1/NUCB2-immunoreactivity in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) [63].

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    1

    Authors contributed equally to this work.

    View full text