Go to JCI Insight
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Publication ethics
  • Alerts
  • Advertising
  • Job board
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • By specialty
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Immunology
    • Metabolism
    • Nephrology
    • Neuroscience
    • Oncology
    • Pulmonology
    • Vascular biology
    • All ...
  • Videos
    • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
    • Author's Takes
  • Reviews
    • View all reviews ...
    • Immune Environment in Glioblastoma (Feb 2023)
    • Korsmeyer Award 25th Anniversary Collection (Jan 2023)
    • Aging (Jul 2022)
    • Next-Generation Sequencing in Medicine (Jun 2022)
    • New Therapeutic Targets in Cardiovascular Diseases (Mar 2022)
    • Immunometabolism (Jan 2022)
    • Circadian Rhythm (Oct 2021)
    • View all review series ...
  • Viewpoint
  • Collections
    • In-Press Preview
    • Commentaries
    • Research letters
    • Letters to the editor
    • Editorials
    • Viewpoint
    • Top read articles
  • Clinical Medicine
  • JCI This Month
    • Current issue
    • Past issues

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Specialties
  • Reviews
  • Review series
  • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
  • Author's Takes
  • In-Press Preview
  • Commentaries
  • Research letters
  • Letters to the editor
  • Editorials
  • Viewpoint
  • Top read articles
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Publication ethics
  • Alerts
  • Advertising
  • Job board
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

Submit a comment

DREADDing proglucagon neurons: a fresh look at metabolic regulation by the brain
Jonathan E. Campbell, David A. D’Alessio
Jonathan E. Campbell, David A. D’Alessio
Published February 20, 2017
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2017;127(3):793-795. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI92845.
View: Text | PDF
Commentary

DREADDing proglucagon neurons: a fresh look at metabolic regulation by the brain

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) signaling in the CNS has been linked to reduced food intake, lower body weight, improved glucose homeostasis, and activation of CNS stress axes. GLP-1 is produced by cells that express proglucagon (GCG); however, the stimuli that activate GCG+ neurons are not well known, which has made understanding the role of this neuronal population in the CNS a challenge. In this issue of the JCI, Gaykema et al. use designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADD) technology to specifically activate GCG+ neurons in mouse models. While activation of GCG+ neurons did reduce food intake, and variably decreased hepatic glucose production, other GLP-1–associated effects were not observed — e.g., activation of stress axes or stimulation of insulin secretion — in response to GCG+ neuron activation. The authors have provided a valuable model to study this set of neurons in vivo, and their results provide new insights into the function of GCG+ neural activity in the brain and raise questions that will move research on this clinically relevant neural system forward.

Authors

Jonathan E. Campbell, David A. D’Alessio

×

Guidelines

The Editorial Board will only consider comments that are deemed relevant and of interest to readers. The Journal will not post data that have not been subjected to peer review; or a comment that is essentially a reiteration of another comment.

  • Comments appear on the Journal’s website and are linked from the original article’s web page.
  • Authors are notified by email if their comments are posted.
  • The Journal reserves the right to edit comments for length and clarity.
  • No appeals will be considered.
  • Comments are not indexed in PubMed.

Specific requirements

  • Maximum length, 400 words
  • Entered as plain text or HTML
  • Author’s name and email address, to be posted with the comment
  • Declaration of all potential conflicts of interest (even if these are not ultimately posted); see the Journal’s conflict-of-interest policy
  • Comments may not include figures
This field is required
This field is required
This field is required
This field is required
This field is required
This field is required

Copyright © 2023 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)

Sign up for email alerts