QRFP-Deficient Mice Are Hypophagic, Lean, Hypoactive and Exhibit Increased Anxiety-Like Behavior

How the hypothalamus transmits hunger information to other brain regions to govern whole brain function to orchestrate feeding behavior has remained largely unknown. Our present study suggests the importance of a recently found lateral hypothalamic neuropeptide, QRFP, in this signaling. Qrfp-/- mice were hypophagic and lean, and exhibited increased anxiety-like behavior, and were hypoactive in novel circumstances as compared with wild type littermates. They also showed decreased wakefulness time in the early hours of the dark period. Histological studies suggested that QRFP neurons receive rich innervations from neurons in the arcuate nucleus which is a primary region for sensing the body’s metabolic state by detecting levels of leptin, ghrelin and glucose. These observations suggest that QRFP is an important mediator that acts as a downstream mediator of the arcuate nucleus and regulates feeding behavior, mood, wakefulness and activity.

下丘脑如何将饥饿信号传递至其他脑区，以调控全脑功能并协调摄食行为，这一科学问题迄今尚未完全阐明。本研究揭示了新近发现的下丘脑外侧区神经肽QRFP在该信号通路中的重要作用。与野生型同窝仔鼠相比，Qrfp-/-小鼠表现出摄食过少、体型消瘦，焦虑样行为增多，且在新环境中活动量降低；此外，该类小鼠在黑暗时段早期的觉醒时长有所减少。组织学研究显示，QRFP神经元接受来自弓状核神经元的密集神经支配；弓状核是机体通过检测瘦素、饥饿素与葡萄糖水平感知代谢状态的核心脑区。上述结果表明，QRFP是弓状核下游的重要信号介质，可调控摄食行为、情绪、觉醒状态与活动能力。