fDWI Evaluation of Hypothalamic Appetite Regulation Pathways in Mice Genetically Deficient in Leptin or Neuropeptide Y.

We evaluate the contribution of leptin-dependent anorexigenic pathways and neuropeptide Y (NPY)-dependent orexigenic pathways to the changes in hypothalamic water diffusion parameters observed in vivo by functional diffusion weighted MRI (fDWI). Mice genetically deficient in leptin (B6.V-Lep (ob) /J) or NPY (129S-Npy (tm1Rpa) /J) and the corresponding wild-type controls, were subjected to sequential isocaloric feeding, fasting and recovery regimes. Non-invasive fDWI measurements were performed under these conditions, and complemented with parallel determinations of food and water consumption, respiratory exchange ratio (RER), locomotor activity and endocrine profiles. Control mice showed significant increases in hypothalamic water diffusion parameters upon fasting, returning to normal values in the recovery period. Leptin deficient mice depicted permanently increased water diffusion parameters under all feeding conditions as compared to wild type controls, without important changes upon fasting or recovery. These results paralleled sustained increases in food and water intake, significantly augmented body weight, and decreased RER values or locomotor activity, thus configuring an obese phenotype. NPY-deficient mice showed significantly reduced increases (or even slight decreases) in the water diffusion parameters upon fasting as compared to wild type controls, paralleled by decreased food and water intake during the recovery period. In conclusion, leptin deficiency results in sustained orexigenic stimulation, leading to increased water diffusion parameters, while NPY deficiency lead to reduced orexigenic stimulation and water diffusion parameters. Diffusion changes are proposed to reflect net astrocytic volume changes induced by the balance between the orexigenic and anorexigenic firings of AgRP/NPY and POMC/CART neurons, respectively. Together, our results suggest that fDWI provides an adequate tool to investigate hypothalamic appetite disorders.