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Zeng W, Yang F, Shen WL, Zhan C, Zheng P, Hu J. Interactions between central nervous system and peripheral metabolic organs. SCIENCE CHINA. LIFE SCIENCES 2022; 65:1929-1958. [PMID: 35771484 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-021-2103-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
According to Descartes, minds and bodies are distinct kinds of "substance", and they cannot have causal interactions. However, in neuroscience, the two-way interaction between the brain and peripheral organs is an emerging field of research. Several lines of evidence highlight the importance of such interactions. For example, the peripheral metabolic systems are overwhelmingly regulated by the mind (brain), and anxiety and depression greatly affect the functioning of these systems. Also, psychological stress can cause a variety of physical symptoms, such as bone loss. Moreover, the gut microbiota appears to play a key role in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. Mechanistically, as the command center of the body, the brain can regulate our internal organs and glands through the autonomic nervous system and neuroendocrine system, although it is generally considered to be outside the realm of voluntary control. The autonomic nervous system itself can be further subdivided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. The sympathetic division functions a bit like the accelerator pedal on a car, and the parasympathetic division functions as the brake. The high center of the autonomic nervous system and the neuroendocrine system is the hypothalamus, which contains several subnuclei that control several basic physiological functions, such as the digestion of food and regulation of body temperature. Also, numerous peripheral signals contribute to the regulation of brain functions. Gastrointestinal (GI) hormones, insulin, and leptin are transported into the brain, where they regulate innate behaviors such as feeding, and they are also involved in emotional and cognitive functions. The brain can recognize peripheral inflammatory cytokines and induce a transient syndrome called sick behavior (SB), characterized by fatigue, reduced physical and social activity, and cognitive impairment. In summary, knowledge of the biological basis of the interactions between the central nervous system and peripheral organs will promote the full understanding of how our body works and the rational treatment of disorders. Thus, we summarize current development in our understanding of five types of central-peripheral interactions, including neural control of adipose tissues, energy expenditure, bone metabolism, feeding involving the brain-gut axis and gut microbiota. These interactions are essential for maintaining vital bodily functions, which result in homeostasis, i.e., a natural balance in the body's systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenwen Zeng
- Institute for Immunology, and Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China. .,Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing, 100084, China. .,Beijing Key Laboratory for Immunological Research on Chronic Diseases, Beijing, 100084, China.
| | - Fan Yang
- The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
| | - Wei L Shen
- School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, 201210, China.
| | - Cheng Zhan
- Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China. .,National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing, 102206, China. .,Tsinghua Institute of Multidisciplinary Biomedical Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
| | - Peng Zheng
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400042, China. .,Institute of Neuroscience and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China. .,Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Chongqing, 400016, China.
| | - Ji Hu
- School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, 201210, China
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Idelevich A, Baron R. Brain to bone: What is the contribution of the brain to skeletal homeostasis? Bone 2018; 115:31-42. [PMID: 29777919 PMCID: PMC6110971 DOI: 10.1016/j.bone.2018.05.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2018] [Revised: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The brain, which governs most, if not all, physiological functions in the body, from the complexities of cognition, learning and memory, to the regulation of basal body temperature, heart rate and breathing, has long been known to affect skeletal health. In particular, the hypothalamus - located at the base of the brain in close proximity to the medial eminence, where the blood-brain-barrier is not as tight as in other regions of the brain but rather "leaky", due to fenestrated capillaries - is exposed to a variety of circulating body cues, such as nutrients (glucose, fatty acids, amino acids), and hormones (insulin, glucagon, leptin, adiponectin) [1-3].Information collected from the body via these peripheral cues is integrated by hypothalamic sensing neurons and glial cells [4-7], which express receptors for these nutrients and hormones, transforming these cues into physiological outputs. Interestingly, many of the same molecules, including leptin, adiponectin and insulin, regulate both energy and skeletal homeostasis. Moreover, they act on a common set of hypothalamic nuclei and their residing neurons, activating endocrine and neuronal systems, which ultimately fine-tune the body to new physiological states. This review will focus exclusively on the brain-to-bone pathway, highlighting the most important anatomical sites within the brain, which are known to affect bone, but not covering the input pathways and molecules informing the brain of the energy and bone metabolic status, covered elsewhere [8-10]. The discussion in each section will present side by side the metabolic and bone-related functions of hypothalamic nuclei, in an attempt to answer some of the long-standing questions of whether energy is affected by bone remodeling and homeostasis and vice versa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Idelevich
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Endocrine Unit MGH, Division of Bone and Mineral Metabolism, Department of Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Roland Baron
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Endocrine Unit MGH, Division of Bone and Mineral Metabolism, Department of Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
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Zaidi M, New MI, Blair HC, Zallone A, Baliram R, Davies TF, Cardozo C, Iqbal J, Sun L, Rosen CJ, Yuen T. Actions of pituitary hormones beyond traditional targets. J Endocrinol 2018; 237:R83-R98. [PMID: 29555849 PMCID: PMC5924585 DOI: 10.1530/joe-17-0680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2018] [Accepted: 03/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Studies over the past decade have challenged the long-held belief that pituitary hormones have singular functions in regulating specific target tissues, including master hormone secretion. Our discovery of the action of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) on bone provided the first glimpse into the non-traditional functions of pituitary hormones. Here we discuss evolving experimental and clinical evidence that growth hormone (GH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), prolactin, oxytocin and arginine vasopressin (AVP) regulate bone and other target tissues, such as fat. Notably, genetic and pharmacologic FSH suppression increases bone mass and reduces body fat, laying the framework for targeting the FSH axis for treating obesity and osteoporosis simultaneously with a single agent. Certain 'pituitary' hormones, such as TSH and oxytocin, are also expressed in bone cells, providing local paracrine and autocrine networks for the regulation of bone mass. Overall, the continuing identification of new roles for pituitary hormones in biology provides an entirely new layer of physiologic circuitry, while unmasking new therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mone Zaidi
- The Mount Sinai Bone Program, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- Correspondence: Mone Zaidi, MD, PhD, The Mount Sinai Bone Program, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L Levy Place, Box 1055, New York, NY 10029;
| | - Maria I. New
- The Mount Sinai Bone Program, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Harry C. Blair
- The Pittsburgh VA Medical Center and Departments of Pathology and of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Alberta Zallone
- Department of Histology, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy
| | - Ramkumarie Baliram
- The Mount Sinai Bone Program, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Terry F. Davies
- The Mount Sinai Bone Program, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Christopher Cardozo
- The Mount Sinai Bone Program, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - James Iqbal
- The Mount Sinai Bone Program, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Li Sun
- The Mount Sinai Bone Program, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | | | - Tony Yuen
- The Mount Sinai Bone Program, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
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Longitudinal assessment of marrow fat content using three-point Dixon technique in osteoporotic rabbits. Menopause 2018; 23:1339-1344. [PMID: 27529463 DOI: 10.1097/gme.0000000000000721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In this longitudinal pilot study, we aimed to investigate the intra-, interobserver, and scan-rescan reproducibility of marrow fat fraction (FF) measurements using three-point Dixon imaging in osteoporotic rabbits: comparison with histopathology. METHODS Twenty female rabbits were randomly assigned to sham-operation and ovariectomy in combination with daily methylprednisolone hemisuccinate groups (n = 10 per group). Marrow FF by three-point Dixon technique and bone density by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry were assessed at baseline, 6 and 12 weeks after operation. Intra-, inter-reader, and scan-rescan reliability of FF measurements were evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman 95% limit of agreement. Histomorphometry was performed to quantify marrow adipocyte parameters. RESULTS Intra- and inter-reader reproducibility of FF measurements was "substantial" (ICC = 0.984 and 0.978, respectively). Although the ICC for scan-rescan reliability was excellent (ICC = 0.962), increased measurement variability was observed using Bland-Altman plot. Relative to the sham-operated rabbits, the adipocytes mean diameter, density, and percent adipocytes area in the osteoporotic rabbits increased by 23.4%, 68.9%, and 117.0%, respectively. Marrow FF was positively correlated with the quantitative parameters of adipocytes, particularly with percent adipocyte area, but inversely associated with bone density. At the relatively early stage, the percentage of bone loss was similar to that of elevated fatty marrow in the osteoporotic rabbits; at the later stage, the change for the latter outweighed that of the former. CONCLUSIONS Results of three-point Dixon technique demonstrated a very reproducible manner within and between observers and acceptable scan-rescan performance in the assessment of marrow fat in rabbits.
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Amri EZ, Pisani DF. Control of bone and fat mass by oxytocin. Horm Mol Biol Clin Investig 2017; 28:95-104. [PMID: 27865092 DOI: 10.1515/hmbci-2016-0045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2016] [Accepted: 10/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Osteoporosis and overweight/obesity constitute major worldwide public health burdens. Aging is associated with a decrease in hormonal secretion, lean mass and bone mass, and an increase in fat accumulation. It is established that both obesity and osteoporosis are affected by genetic and environmental factors, bone remodeling and adiposity are both regulated through the hypothalamus and sympathetic nervous system. Oxytocin (OT), belongs to the pituitary hormone family and regulates the function of peripheral target organs, its circulating levels decreased with age. Nowadays, it is well established that OT plays an important role in the control of bone and fat mass and their metabolism. Of note, OT and oxytocin receptor knock out mice develop bone defects and late-onset obesity. Thus OT emerges as a promising molecule in the treatment of osteoporosis and obesity as well as associated metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. In this review, we will discuss findings regarding the OT effects on bone and fat mass.
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Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy-Detected Changes of Marrow Fat Content in a Rabbit Model of Osteoporosis Treated With Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate. J Comput Assist Tomogr 2016; 41:231-235. [PMID: 27824667 DOI: 10.1097/rct.0000000000000517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to longitudinally evaluate the changes in marrow fat content of ovariectomized (OVX) rabbits treated with epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS). METHODS Thirty-six female New Zealand rabbits were equally divided into sham operation, OVX controls, and OVX treated with EGCG (intraperitoneally, 1.8 mg/kg) for 5 months. Marrow fat fraction by H-MRS and bone density by peripheral quantitative computed tomography were determined at 0, 3, and 5 months. Serum biomarkers and marrow adipocytes were determined at the end of experiment. RESULTS Estrogen deficiency increased marrow fat content in a time-dependent manner, with a variation of marrow fat fraction (FF) (+25.3%) at month 3 from baseline, and it was maintained until month 5 (+66.6%, all P < 0.001). In comparison with the sham-operated controls, adipocytes density, size, and percentage of adipocytes area in the OVX controls increased by 62.9%, 44.4%, and 178%, respectively (all P < 0.05). These OVX-induced pathological changes were partly reversed by EGCG treatment. In addition, EGCG treatment reduced bone turnover and increased bone density of OVX rabbits. CONCLUSIONS Epigallocatechin-3-gallate exhibits an anabolic effect on osteoporotic bone by concomitantly rescuing bone mass and mitigating marrow adiposity. H-MRS appears to be a useful tool for monitoring osteoporosis-related treatments.
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