PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
ED  - , 
TI  - Metabolic Information Highway
AID  - 10.1126/stke.3402006tw210
DP  - 2006 Jun 20
TA  - Science's STKE
PG  - tw210--tw210
VI  - 2006
IP  - 340
4099  - http://stke.sciencemag.org/content/2006/340/tw210.short
4100  - http://stke.sciencemag.org/content/2006/340/tw210.full
SO  - Sci. STKE2006 Jun 20; 2006
AB  - The several distinct tissues that contribute to the maintenance of energy balance in mammals must somehow communicate with one another. For example, the liver sends metabolic signals to peripheral adipose tissue, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Studying a mouse model, Uno et al. found that these tissues communicate by means of a neuronal pathway consisting of the afferent vagus nerve from the liver and efferent sympathetic nerves to adipose tissues. This pathway is involved in the regulation of energy expenditure, systemic insulin sensitivity, glucose metabolism, and fat distribution between the liver and periphery, and it may also help protect the animal from the metabolic disturbances that are set in motion by excess fat storage. K. Uno, K. Katagiri, T. Yamada, Y. Ishigaki, T. Ogihara, J. Imai, Y. Hasegawa, J. Gao, K. Kaneko, H. Iwasaki, H. Ishihara, H. Sasano, K. Inukai, H. Mizuguchi, T. Asano, M. Shiota, M. Nakazato, Y. Oka, Neuronal pathway from the liver modulates energy expenditure and systemic insulin sensitivity. Science 312, 1656-1659 (2006). [Abstract] [Full Text]