Transcriptomic analysis links diverse hypothalamic cell types to fibroblast growth factor 1-induced sustained diabetes remission

Marie A. Bentsen, Dylan M. Rausch, Zaman Mirzadeh, Kenjiro Muta, Jarrad M. Scarlett, Jenny M. Brown, Vicente Herranz-Pérez, Arian F. Baquero, Jonatan Thompson, Kimberly M. Alonge, Chelsea L. Faber, Karl J. Kaiyala, Camdin Bennett, Charles Pyke, Cecilia Ratner, Kristoffer L. Egerod, Birgitte Holst, Thomas H. Meek, Burak Kutlu, Yu ZhangThomas Sparso, Kevin L. Grove, Gregory J. Morton, Birgitte R. Kornum, José Manuel García-Verdugo, Anna Secher, Rasmus Jorgensen, Michael W. Schwartz*, Tune H. Pers

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

In rodent models of type 2 diabetes (T2D), sustained remission of hyperglycemia can be induced by a single intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1), and the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) was recently implicated as the brain area responsible for this effect. To better understand the cellular response to FGF1 in the MBH, we sequenced >79,000 single-cell transcriptomes from the hypothalamus of diabetic Lepob/ob mice obtained on Days 1 and 5 after icv injection of either FGF1 or vehicle. A wide range of transcriptional responses to FGF1 was observed across diverse hypothalamic cell types, with glial cell types responding much more robustly than neurons at both time points. Tanycytes and ependymal cells were the most FGF1-responsive cell type at Day 1, but astrocytes and oligodendrocyte lineage cells subsequently became more responsive. Based on histochemical and ultrastructural evidence of enhanced cell-cell interactions between astrocytes and Agrp neurons (key components of the melanocortin system), we performed a series of studies showing that intact melanocortin signaling is required for the sustained antidiabetic action of FGF1. These data collectively suggest that hypothalamic glial cells are leading targets for the effects of FGF1 and that sustained diabetes remission is dependent on intact melanocortin signaling.

Original languageEnglish
Article number4458
JournalNature Communications
Volume11
Issue number1
ISSN2041-1723
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

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