Orexins (hypocretins): novel hypothalamic peptides with divergent functions

Abstract

The hypothalamus is the most important region in the control of food intake and body weight. The ventromedial "satiety center" and lateral hypothalamic "feeding center" have been implicated in the regulation of feeding and energy homeostasis by various studies of brain lesions. The discovery of orexin peptides, whose neurons are localized in the lateral hypothalamus and adjacent areas, has given us new insight into the regulation of feeding. Dense fiber projections are found throughout the brain, especially in the raphe nucleus, locus coeruleus, paraventricular thalamic nucleus, arcuate nucleus, and central gray. Orexins mainly stimulate food intake, but by the virtue of wide immunoreactive projections throughout the brain and spinal cord, orexins interact with various neuronal pathways to potentiate divergent functions. In this review, we summarize recent progress in the physiological, neuroanatomical, and molecular studies of the novel neuropeptide orexins (hypocretins).