Oxytocinergic Neurons in the Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus Stimulate Brown Adipose Tissue Thermogenesis through Rostral Medullary Raphe

Abstract

Hypothalamic neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) produce several neuropeptides, including oxytocin and vasopressin, and send their axons to various brain regions. These PVN neurons have been considered to serve neuroendocrine and autonomic functions, and many studies have demonstrated the involvement of oxytocin in social and emotional behaviors (e.g. maternal and sexual behaviors, and stress responses). Although these behaviors are accompanied with autonomic responses, it is unclear how oxytocin modulates the activities of the autonomic nervous system. To investigate the roles of PVN oxytocinergic neurons in the central regulation of autonomic function, in this study, we first performed neural tract tracing in rats from PVN oxytocinergic neurons to the rostral medullary raphe region (rMR), which contains sympathetic premotor neurons controlling brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis. In the rMR, oxytocin‐immunoreactive fibers, but not vasopressin‐immunoreactive fibers, were distributed, and oxytocin‐containing terminals were apposed to tryptophan hydroxylase‐expressing (i.e., serotonergic) neurons, potentially BAT sympathetic premotor neurons. Retrograde tracing from the rMR with cholera toxin b‐subunit (CTb) labeled a portion of oxytocinergic neurons in the caudal PVN, but not in the supraoptic nucleus, suggesting that the PVN is a major source of oxytocinergic fibers in the rMR. Then, we performed in vivo BAT sympathetic nerve recording combining optogenetic stimulation of the PVN‐derived oxytocinergic axon terminals in the rMR. Recombinant adeno‐associated viral vectors were injected into the PVN to express the engineered channel rhodopsin variant, ChIEF, under the oxytocin promoter. We confirmed that most of PVN neurons expressing ChIEF‐mCherry contained oxytocin and that their axon fibers were densely distributed in the rMR. Optogenetic stimulation of these fibers evoked BAT sympathetic nerve activities as well as increased expired CO2 and heart rate. Similar thermogenic and cardiac responses were elicited by nanoinjection of oxytocin into the rMR, and these responses were blocked by prior injection of the oxytocin receptor antagonist, L‐368,899 into the rMR. In addition, oxytocin injection into the rMR also potentiated NMDA‐evoked BAT sympathetic nerve activities. These findings indicate that PVN oxytocinergic neurons stimulate thermogenic sympathetic outflow to BAT through activation of rMR neurons. This oxytocinergic pathway may play an important role in emotion‐related autonomic responses.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP16H05128, JP15H05932, JP26118508 (KN) and by AMED under Grant Number JP18gm5010002 (KN)This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.