Brain Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor (CNTF) and hypothalamic control of energy homeostasis

Cytokines play an important role in energy-balance regulation. Notably leptin, an adipocyte-secreted cytokine, regulates the activity of hypothalamic neurons that are involved in the modulation of appetite. Leptin decreases appetite and stimulates weight loss in rodents. Unfortunately, numerous forms of obesity in humans seem to be resistant to leptin action. The ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) is a neurocytokine that belongs to the same family as leptin and that was originally characterized as a neurotrophic factor that promotes the survival of a broad spectrum of neuronal cell types and that enhances neurogenesis in adult rodents. It presents the advantage of stimulating weight loss in humans, despite the leptin resistance. Moreover, the weight loss persists several weeks after the cessation of treatment. Hence, CNTF has been considered as a promising therapeutic tool for the treatment of obesity and has prompted intense research aimed at identifying the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying its potent anorexigenic properties. It has been found that CNTF shares signaling pathways with leptin and is expressed in the arcuate nucleus (ARC), a key hypothalamic region controlling food intake. Endogenous CNTF may also participate in the control of energy balance. Indeed, its expression in the ARC is inversely correlated to body weight in rats fed a high-sucrose diet. Thus hypothalamic CNTF may act, in some individuals, as a protective factor against weight gain during hypercaloric diet and could account for individual differences in the susceptibility to obesity.