Abstract
Animal survival relies on a constant balance between energy supply and energy expenditure, which is controlled by several neuroendocrine functions that integrate metabolic information and adapt the response of the organism to physiological demands. Polarized ependymoglial cells lining the floor of the third ventricle and sending a single process within metabolic hypothalamic parenchyma, tanycytes are henceforth described as key components of the hypothalamic neural network controlling energy balance. Their strategic position and peculiar properties convey them diverse physiological functions ranging from blood/brain traffic controllers, metabolic modulators, and neural stem/progenitor cells. At the molecular level, these functions rely on an accurate regulation of gene expression. Indeed, tanycytes are characterized by their own molecular signature which is mostly associated to their diverse physiological functions, and the detection of variations in nutrient/hormone levels leads to an adequate modulation of genetic profile in order to ensure energy homeostasis. The aim of this review is to summarize recent knowledge on the nutritional control of tanycyte gene expression.
Highlights
Living organisms require an adequate balance between energy supply and energy expenditure to maintain cell and organ functions
Tanycytes are special elongated and polarized ependymoglial cells that line the lateral walls and the floor of the third ventricle (Figure 1) [7,8,9]. They are morphologically distinguished from more dorsally-located classical cuboidal ependymal cells by the absence of beating cilia that drive the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and by the presence of a single long radial process sent into the mediobasal hypothalamus including the median eminence (ME) and hypothalamic nuclei involved in the regulation of energy balance (Figure 1) [8]
The hypothesis is that the prohormone T4 is taken up by tanycytes from the circulation or the CSF via MCT8 and OATP1C1, DIO2 converts T4 to the active T3, which can diffuse into the surrounding hypothalamic nuclei and act on neurons involved in the regulation of metabolism [76]
Summary
Reviewed by: Philippe Ciofi, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), France Matei Bolborea, University of Warwick, United Kingdom. Specialty section: This article was submitted to Neuroendocrine Science, a section of the journal
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