Research Publications Archive - Foundation for Prader-Willi Research | Hunger Satiety

A Transcriptomic Signature of the Hypothalamic Response to Fasting and BDNF Deficiency in Prader-Willi Syndrome

Transcriptional analysis of brain tissue from people with molecularly defined causes of obesity may highlight disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets. We performed RNA sequencing of hypothalamus from individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a genetic obesity syndrome characterized by severe...

Hypothalamic loss of Snord116 recapitulates the hyperphagia of Prader-Willi syndrome

Profound hyperphagia is a major disabling feature of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Characterization of the mechanisms that underlie PWS-associated hyperphagia has been slowed by the paucity of animal models with increased food intake or obesity. Mice with a microdeletion encompassing the Snord116...

Altered functional resting-state hypothalamic connectivity and abnormal pituitary morphology in children with Prader-Willi syndrome

Abstract BACKGROUND: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by endocrine problems and hyperphagia, indicating hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction. However, few studies have explored the underlying neurobiology of the hypothalamus and its functional...

Dysfunctional oleoylethanolamide signaling in a mouse model of Prader-Willi syndrome

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), the leading genetic cause of obesity, is characterized by a striking hyperphagic behavior that can lead to obesity, type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death. The molecular mechanism underlying impaired satiety in PWS is unknown. Oleoylethanolamide (OEA) is a...

Targeting the endocannabinoid/CB1 receptor system for treating obesity in Prader-Willi syndrome

OBJECTIVE: Extreme obesity is a core phenotypic feature of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Among numerous metabolic regulators, the endocannabinoid (eCB) system is critically involved in controlling feeding, body weight, and energy metabolism, and a globally acting cannabinoid-1 receptor (CB1R)...

Oligonucleotide-induced alternative splicing of serotonin 2C receptor reduces food intake

The serotonin 2C receptor regulates food uptake, and its activity is regulated by alternative pre-mRNA splicing. Alternative exon skipping is predicted to generate a truncated receptor protein isoform, whose existence was confirmed with a new antiserum. The truncated receptorsequesters the...

Loss of Magel2 Impairs the Development of Hypothalamic Anorexigenic Circuits

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder characterized by a variety of physiological and behavioral dysregulations, including hyperphagia, a condition that can lead to life-threatening obesity. Feeding behavior is a highly complex process with multiple feedback loops that involve both...

Lateral Hypothalamic Area Glutamatergic Neurons and Their Projections to the Lateral Habenula Regulate Feeding and Reward

The overconsumption of calorically dense, highly palatable foods is thought to be a major contributor to the worldwide obesity epidemic; however, the precise neural circuits that directly regulate hedonic feeding remain elusive. Here, we show that lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) glutamatergic...

Nutritional Phases in Prader-Willi Syndrome: Evolutionary and Clinical Interpretations

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is caused by a lack of expression of paternally-expressed imprinted genes at human chromosome 15q11-13 and is characterized by a switch from infant anorexia to childhood hyperphagia. A recent multiphase staging system recognizes gradual changes between the anorexic and...

High unacylated ghrelin levels support the concept of anorexia in infants with prader-willi syndrome

BACKGROUND: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorder with different nutritional phases from suckling deficit with failure to thrive to early onset of obesity. Hyperghrelinemia has been described in PWS long before the development of obesity. Ghrelin is found in both...

Progress in Small Molecule and Biologic Therapeutics Targeting Ghrelin Signaling

Ghrelin is a circulating peptide hormone involved in regulation of a wide array of physiological processes. As an endogenous ligand for growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R1a), ghrelin is responsible for signaling involved in energy homeostasis, including appetite stimulation, glucose...

Novel Regulator of Acylated Ghrelin, CF801, Reduces Weight Gain, Rebound Feeding after a Fast, and Adiposity in Mice

Ghrelin is a 28 amino acid hormonal peptide that is intimately related to the regulation of food intake and body weight. Once secreted, ghrelin binds to the growth hormone secretagogue receptor-1a, the only known receptor for ghrelin and is capable of activating a number of signaling cascades,...

A review of chemosensory perceptions, food preferences and food-related behaviours in subjects with Prader-Willi Syndrome

Hyperphagia and obsessive preoccupation with food are hallmark characteristics of Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). Although hyperphagia in PWS is linked to hypothalamic dysfunction, the underlying mechanisms behind this problem are poorlyunderstood. Moreover, our understanding of howchemosensory...

Lateral hypothalamic circuits for feeding and reward

In experiments conducted over 60 years ago, the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) was identified as a critical neuroanatomical substrate for motivated behavior. Electrical stimulation of the LHA induces voracious feeding even in well-fed animals. In the absence of food, animals will work tirelessly,...

Obesity Impairs the Action of the Neuroendocrine Ghrelin System

Ghrelin is a metabolic hormone that promotes energy conservation by regulating appetite and energy expenditure. Although some studies suggest that antagonizing ghrelin function attenuates body weight gain and glucose intolerance on a high calorie diet, there is little information about the...

Macronutrient regulation of Ghrelin and Peptide YY in Pediatric Obesity and Prader Willi Syndrome (PWS)

Abstract BACKGROUND: The roles of macronutrients and GH in the regulation of food intake in pediatric obesity and PWS are poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: We compared effects of high carbohydrate (HC) and high fat (HF) meals and GH therapy on ghrelin, insulin, PYY, and insulin sensitivity in children...

Metabolic profiling in Prader-Willi syndrome and nonsyndromic obesity: sex differences and the role of growth hormone

Abstract OBJECTIVES: To identify metabolic factors controlling appetite and insulin sensitivity in PWS and assess effects of GH treatment. METHODS: We compared amino acids, fatty acids and acylcarnitines in GH-treated and untreated PWS children and obese and lean controls to identify biomarkers...

A new class of ghrelin O-acyltransferase inhibitors incorporating triazole-linked lipid mimetic groups

Inhibitors of ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT) have untapped potential as therapeutics targeting obesity and diabetes. We report the first examples of GOAT inhibitors incorporating a triazole linkage as a biostable isosteric replacement for the ester bond in ghrelin and amide bonds in previously...

Progressive postnatal decline in leptin sensitivity of arcuate hypothalamic neurons in the Magel2-null mouse model of Prader-Willi Syndrome

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a multigene disorder associated with neonatal failure to thrive, developmental delay, and endocrine abnormalities suggestive of hypothalamic dysfunction. Children with PWS typically develop overt hyperphagia and obesity around 8 years of age, later than children with...

Metabolic profiling in Prader-Willi syndrome and non-syndromic obesity: sex differences and the role of growth hormone

OBJECTIVES: To identify metabolic factors controlling appetite and insulin sensitivity in PWS and assess effects of GH treatment.

Estradiol modulates Kiss1 neuronal response to ghrelin

Ghrelin is a metabolic signal regulating energy homeostasis. Circulating ghrelin levels rise during starvation and fall after a meal, and therefore, ghrelin may function as a signal of negative energy balance. Ghrelin may also act as a modulator of reproductive physiology, as acute ghrelin...

Hyperphagia: Current concepts and future directions proceedings of the 2nd international conference on hyperphagia

Objective Hyperphagia is a central feature of inherited disorders (e.g., Prader–Willi Syndrome) in which obesity is a primary phenotypic component. Hyperphagia may also contribute to obesity as observed in the general population, thus raising the potential importance of common underlying mechanisms...

Neonatal overnutrition causes early alterations in the central response to peripheral ghrelin

Objective Excess nutrient supply and rapid weight gain during early life are risk factors for the development of obesity during adulthood. This metabolic malprogramming may be mediated by endocrine disturbances during critical periods of development. Ghrelin is a metabolic hormone secreted from the...

CRF type 2 receptors mediate the metabolic effects of ghrelin in C2C12 cells

Objective Ghrelin is known to regulate appetite control and cellular metabolism. The corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) family is also known to regulate energy balance. In this study, the links between ghrelin and the CRF family in C2C12 cells, a mouse myoblast cell line was investigated.

Abdominal Leanness in the Imprinting Center-Deletion Mouse Model for Prader-Willi Syndrome May Result from Excess Thermogenesis

Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a lack of paternal gene expression from 15q11–q13 and is characterized by a failure to thrive in infancy, followed by impaired skeletal growth, hyperghrelinemia, reduced satiety responses, hyperphagia and obesity. We have shown...

Neuropeptide Y Activity in the Nucleus Accumbens Modulates Feeding Behavior and Neuronal Activity

BACKGROUND: Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a hypothalamic neuropeptide that plays a prominent role in feeding and energy homeostasis. Expression of the NPY Y1 receptor (Y1R) is highly concentrated in the nucleus accumbens (Acb), a region important in the regulation of palatable feeding. In this study, we...

Structure-activity analysis of human ghrelin o-acyltransferase reveals chemical determinants of ghrelin selectivity and acyl group recognition

Ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT) is an integral membrane acyltransferase responsible for catalyzing a serine-octanoylation posttranslational modification within the peptide hormone ghrelin. Ghrelin requires this octanoylation for its biological activity in stimulating appetite and in regulating...

Neonatal ghrelin programs development of hypothalamic feeding circuits

A complex neural network regulates body weight and energy balance, and dysfunction in the communication between the gut and this neural network is associated with metabolic diseases, such as obesity. The stomach-derived hormone ghrelin stimulates appetite through interactions with neurons in the...

Abnormal response to the anorexic effect of GHS-R inhibitors and exenatide in male Snord116 deletion mouse model for Prader-Willi syndrome

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disease characterized by persistent hunger and hyperphagia. The lack of the Snord116 small nucleolar RNA cluster has been identified as the major contributor to PWS symptoms. The Snord116 deletion (Snord116del) mouse model manifested a subset of PWS symptoms...