Glial signals for tanycyte/neuron partnerships
Specialized ependymoglial cells called tanycytes line the walls and the floor of the third ventricle able to detect the metabolic state. A recent study from the laboratory has shown that 30% of tanycyte contacts are established with neurons, suggesting close communications between tanycytes and neurons. Furthermore, growing evidence shows that, following the detection of the nutritional status by tanycytes, the metabolic information is conveyed to neurons. Notably, we and others have described changes in glial coverage, the number and ratio of synaptic inputs on metabolic neurons, neuronal gene expression (e.g., Npy, Agrp, and Pomc), activity (e.g., cfos, pERK, and pSTAT3), and firing. However, many questions remain regarding the glial signals underlying tanycyte/neuron communication for energy balance regulation.
Transcriptomics analysis showed that tanycytes express numerous secreted signaling molecules differentially regulated by the metabolic state. Using multidisciplinary approaches, we aim to determine what are the tanycyte signals mediating tanycytes-to-neurons communication for the regulation of energy balance.