The lateral habenula contributes to regulation of body temperature
Xuxin Wang,
Xiaowei Chen,
Zehui Zhang,
Xiaofeng Liu,
Qianqian Lv,
Meiying Song,
Danyang Zhao,
Jianjun Su,
Yana Su,
Guoyan Zhao,
Jianfeng Sun,
Weihong Lin,
Hua Zhao
Affiliations
Xuxin Wang
Department of Physiology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Xinmin Street No. 126, Changchun 130021, People's Republic of China
Xiaowei Chen
Department of Physiology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Xinmin Street No. 126, Changchun 130021, People's Republic of China; Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, People's Republic of China
Zehui Zhang
Department of Physiology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Xinmin Street No. 126, Changchun 130021, People's Republic of China
Xiaofeng Liu
Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
Qianqian Lv
Department of Physiology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Xinmin Street No. 126, Changchun 130021, People's Republic of China
Meiying Song
Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
Danyang Zhao
Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
Jianjun Su
Department of Physiology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Xinmin Street No. 126, Changchun 130021, People's Republic of China
Yana Su
Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
Guoyan Zhao
Department of Physiology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Xinmin Street No. 126, Changchun 130021, People's Republic of China
Jianfeng Sun
Department of Physiology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Xinmin Street No. 126, Changchun 130021, People's Republic of China
Weihong Lin
Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
Hua Zhao
Department of Physiology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Xinmin Street No. 126, Changchun 130021, People's Republic of China; Neuroscience Research Center, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China; Corresponding author
Summary: The lateral habenula (LHb) is implicated in the regulation of numerous physiological functions, particularly those associated with thermoregulation. It exhibits close anatomical and functional connections with the key brain regions that play a crucial role in regulating body temperature. However, whether the LHb directly contributes to temperature regulation remains unclear. We here report that chemogenetic and optogenetic manipulations of LHb glutamatergic neurons bidirectionally modulated body temperature. When the LHb glutamatergic neurons were impaired, mice exhibited a pronounced intolerance to cold stimuli. Interestingly, we observed differential responses to thermal stimuli between GABAergic neurons in LPO and glutamatergic neurons in LHb. Notably, cold-activated glutamatergic neurons in LHb receive the projections from heat-activated GABAergic neurons in LPO. Using optogenetic techniques to activate the LPOVgat–LHb neural circuit led to significant decreases in body temperature. Collectively, our findings suggest that the glutamatergic neurons in the LHb and the LPOVgat–LHb neural circuit may play a crucial role in temperature regulation.
