Role of lateral septum glucagon-like peptide 1 receptors in food intake

• Published in: American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology Vol. 311; no. 1; pp. R124 - R132
• Main Authors: Terrill, Sarah J, Jackson, Christine M, Greene, Hayden E, Lilly, Nicole, Maske, Calyn B, Vallejo, Samantha, Williams, Diana L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Physiological Society 01.07.2016
• Subjects: Animals; Anxiety - psychology; Brain; Conditioning, Operant - drug effects; Diet, High-Fat; Eating - drug effects; Exenatide; Food; Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor - agonists; Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor - antagonists & inhibitors; Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor - metabolism; Injections, Intraventricular; Male; Motivation - drug effects; Neural Control; Obesity, Diabetes and Energy Homeostasis; Peptide Fragments - pharmacology; Peptides; Peptides - pharmacology; Pica - chemically induced; Pica - psychology; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Septum of Brain - metabolism; Sucrose; Venoms - pharmacology; lateral septum; glucagon-like peptide-1; food intake
• ISSN: 0363-6119; 1522-1490
• DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00460.2015

Hindbrain glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) neurons project to numerous forebrain areas, including the lateral septum (LS). Using a fluorescently labeled GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonist, Exendin 4 (Ex4), we demonstrated GLP-1 receptor binding throughout the rat LS. We examined the feeding effects of Ex4 and the GLP-1R antagonist Exendin (9-39) (Ex9) at doses subthreshold for effect when delivered to the lateral ventricle. Intra-LS Ex4 suppressed overnight chow and high-fat diet (HFD) intake, and Ex9 increased chow and HFD intake relative to vehicle. During 2-h tests, intra-LS Ex9 significantly increased 0.25 M sucrose and 4% corn oil. Ex4 can cause nausea, but intra-LS administration of Ex4 did not induce pica. Furthermore, intra-LS Ex4 had no effect on anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze. We investigated the role of LS GLP-1R in motivation for food by examining operant responding for sucrose on a progressive ratio (PR) schedule, with and without a nutrient preload to maximize GLP-1 neuron activation. The preload strongly suppressed PR responding, but blockade of GLP-1R in the intermediate subdivision of the LS did not affect motivation for sucrose under either load condition. The ability of the nutrient load to suppress subsequent chow intake was significantly attenuated by intermediate LS Ex9 treatment. By contrast, blockade of GLP-1R in the dorsal subdivision of the LS increased both PR responding and overnight chow intake. Together, these studies suggest that endogenous activity of GLP-1R in the LS influence feeding, and dLS GLP-1Rs, in particular, play a role in motivation.