Central action of ELABELA reduces food intake and activates arginine vasopressin and corticotropin-releasing hormone neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus

Abstract

ELABELA (ELA) is a novel hormone consisting of 32 amino acid peptides found in humans as well as other vertebrates and is considered to play an important role in the circulatory system through the apelin receptor (APJ). However, whether ELA also acts in the central nervous system remains unknown. Here, we show that ELA functions as an anorexigenic hormone in adult mouse brain. An intracerebroventricular injection of ELA reduces food intake and activates arginine vasopressin (AVP) and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), a hypothalamic region that regulates food intake. Cytosolic calcium ([Ca²⁺]_i) measurement shows that ELA dose dependently increases [Ca²⁺]_i in single AVP and CRH-immunoreactive neurons isolated from the PVN. Our data suggest that ELA functions as an anorexigenic hormone through activation of AVP and CRH neurons in the PVN.