| First Author | Zhang Z | Year | 2020 |
| Journal | Nat Commun | Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 6378 |
| PubMed ID | 33311503 | Mgi Jnum | J:301419 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6504603 | Doi | 10.1038/s41467-020-20050-1 |
| Citation | Zhang Z, et al. (2020) Estrogen-sensitive medial preoptic area neurons coordinate torpor in mice. Nat Commun 11(1):6378 |
| abstractText | Homeotherms maintain a stable internal body temperature despite changing environments. During energy deficiency, some species can cease to defend their body temperature and enter a hypothermic and hypometabolic state known as torpor. Recent advances have revealed the medial preoptic area (MPA) as a key site for the regulation of torpor in mice. The MPA is estrogen-sensitive and estrogens also have potent effects on both temperature and metabolism. Here, we demonstrate that estrogen-sensitive neurons in the MPA can coordinate hypothermia and hypometabolism in mice. Selectively activating estrogen-sensitive MPA neurons was sufficient to drive a coordinated depression of metabolic rate and body temperature similar to torpor, as measured by body temperature, physical activity, indirect calorimetry, heart rate, and brain activity. Inducing torpor with a prolonged fast revealed larger and more variable calcium transients from estrogen-sensitive MPA neurons during bouts of hypothermia. Finally, whereas selective ablation of estrogen-sensitive MPA neurons demonstrated that these neurons are required for the full expression of fasting-induced torpor in both female and male mice, their effects on thermoregulation and torpor bout initiation exhibit differences across sex. Together, these findings suggest a role for estrogen-sensitive MPA neurons in directing the thermoregulatory and metabolic responses to energy deficiency. |
