Bhussry Seminar Series Featuring Ramón A. Piñol Manchon, PhD

Presentation: Preoptic BRS3 Neurons Increase Body Temperature and Heart Rate via Multiple Pathways

Speaker: Ramón A. Piñol Manchon, PhD
Staff Scientist at NIH-NIDDK / ramon.pinolmanchon@nih.gov

As endotherms, failure to use metabolic heat to maintain a stable internal temperature can lead to a myriad of physiological and psychological perturbations including death. Therefore, identifying the neural cell-types and circuits regulating body temperature is critical to our understanding of this motivational need state. The preoptic area (POA) is a key brain region for regulation of body temperature (Tb), dictating thermogenic, cardiovascular, and behavioral responses that control Tb. Previously characterized POA neuronal populations all reduced Tb when activated. Using mice, we now identify POA neurons expressing bombesin-like receptor 3 (POABRS3) as a population whose activation increased Tb; inversely, acute inhibition of these neurons reduced Tb. POABRS3 neurons that project to either the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus or the dorsomedial hypothalamus increased Tb, heart rate, and blood pressure via the sympathetic nervous system. Long-term inactivation of POABRS3 neurons caused increased Tb variability, overshooting both increases and decreases in Tb set point, with RNA expression profiles suggesting multiple types of POABRS3 neurons. Thus, POABRS3 neuronal populations regulate Tb and heart rate, contribute to cold-defense, and fine-tune feedback control of Tb. These findings advance understanding of homeothermy, a defining feature of mammalian biology.

Sponsored by the Department of Biochemistry