| First Author | Zhang KX | Year | 2020 |
| Journal | Nature | Volume | 585 |
| Issue | 7825 | Pages | 420-425 |
| PubMed ID | 32879486 | Mgi Jnum | J:296976 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6471542 | Doi | 10.1038/s41586-020-2683-0 |
| Citation | Zhang KX, et al. (2020) Violet-light suppression of thermogenesis by opsin 5 hypothalamic neurons. Nature 585(7825):420-425 |
| abstractText | The opsin family of G-protein-coupled receptors are used as light detectors in animals. Opsin 5 (also known as neuropsin or OPN5) is a highly conserved opsin that is sensitive to visible violet light(1,2). In mice, OPN5 is a known photoreceptor in the retina(3) and skin(4) but is also expressed in the hypothalamic preoptic area (POA)(5). Here we describe a light-sensing pathway in which POA neurons that express Opn5 regulate thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT). We show that Opn5 is expressed in glutamatergic warm-sensing POA neurons that receive synaptic input from several thermoregulatory nuclei. We further show that Opn5 POA neurons project to BAT and decrease its activity under chemogenetic stimulation. Opn5-null mice show overactive BAT, increased body temperature, and exaggerated thermogenesis when cold-challenged. Moreover, violet photostimulation during cold exposure acutely suppresses BAT temperature in wild-type mice but not in Opn5-null mice. Direct measurements of intracellular cAMP ex vivo show that Opn5 POA neurons increase cAMP when stimulated with violet light. This analysis thus identifies a violet light-sensitive deep brain photoreceptor that normally suppresses BAT thermogenesis. |
