美国克利夫兰大学医院医疗中心Atul R. Chopra和路易斯安那州立大学何彦林研究团队取得一项新突破。他们的研究显示，小脑调节口渴。该项研究成果发表在2024年7月10日出版的《自然—神经科学》上。

研究团队发现小鼠小脑浦肯野神经元被激素白脂素激活，导致口渴增强，光遗传学或化学遗传学激活浦肯野神经元诱导了饮水的快速表现。浦肯野神经元特异性白脂素受体(Ptprd)缺失导致水摄入量减少而不影响食物摄入量，并消除白脂素的致病作用。

浦肯野神经元介导的运动学习和协调不受这些操作的影响，表明浦肯野神经元独立控制两种不同的功能。他们的研究结果表明，小脑是一个调节口渴的大脑区域，白脂素-白脂素受体信号可能是治疗口渴障碍的潜在靶点。

据介绍，小脑是一个古老的大脑区域，长期以来一直被认为是一个严格的运动控制结构。近年来的研究表明，小脑与认知、感觉、情感和自主神经功能有关，是今后研究的重要目标。

附：英文原文

Title: The cerebellum modulates thirst

Author: Mishra, Ila, Feng, Bing, Basu, Bijoya, Brown, Amanda M., Kim, Linda H., Lin, Tao, Raza, Mir Abbas, Moore, Amelia, Hahn, Abigayle, Bailey, Samantha, Sharp, Alaina, Bournat, Juan C., Poulton, Claire, Kim, Brian, Langsner, Amos, Sathyanesan, Aaron, Sillitoe, Roy V., He, Yanlin, Chopra, Atul R.

Issue&Volume: 2024-07-10

Abstract: The cerebellum, a phylogenetically ancient brain region, has long been considered strictly a motor control structure. Recent studies have implicated the cerebellum in cognition, sensation, emotion and autonomic function, making it an important target for further investigation. Here, we show that cerebellar Purkinje neurons in mice are activated by the hormone asprosin, leading to enhanced thirst, and that optogenetic or chemogenetic activation of Purkinje neurons induces rapid manifestation of water drinking. Purkinje neuron-specific asprosin receptor (Ptprd) deletion results in reduced water intake without affecting food intake and abolishes asprosin’s dipsogenic effect. Purkinje neuron-mediated motor learning and coordination were unaffected by these manipulations, indicating independent control of two divergent functions by Purkinje neurons. Our results show that the cerebellum is a thirst-modulating brain area and that asprosin–Ptprd signaling may be a potential therapeutic target for the management of thirst disorders.

DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01700-9

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-024-01700-9