eLife (Nov 2020)

Lipocalin-2 is an anorexigenic signal in primates

  • Peristera-Ioanna Petropoulou,
  • Ioanna Mosialou,
  • Steven Shikhel,
  • Lihong Hao,
  • Konstantinos Panitsas,
  • Brygida Bisikirska,
  • Na Luo,
  • Fabiana Bahna,
  • Jongho Kim,
  • Patrick Carberry,
  • Francesca Zanderigo,
  • Norman Simpson,
  • Mihran Bakalian,
  • Suham Kassir,
  • Lawrence Shapiro,
  • Mark D Underwood,
  • Christina M May,
  • Kiran Kumar Soligapuram Sai,
  • Matthew J Jorgensen,
  • Cyrille B Confavreux,
  • Sue Shapses,
  • Blandine Laferrère,
  • Akiva Mintz,
  • J John Mann,
  • Mishaela Rubin,
  • Stavroula Kousteni

DOI
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.58949
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9

Abstract

Read online

In the mouse, the osteoblast-derived hormone Lipocalin-2 (LCN2) suppresses food intake and acts as a satiety signal. We show here that meal challenges increase serum LCN2 levels in persons with normal or overweight, but not in individuals with obesity. Postprandial LCN2 serum levels correlate inversely with hunger sensation in challenged subjects. We further show through brain PET scans of monkeys injected with radiolabeled recombinant human LCN2 (rh-LCN2) and autoradiography in baboon, macaque, and human brain sections, that LCN2 crosses the blood-brain barrier and localizes to the hypothalamus in primates. In addition, daily treatment of lean monkeys with rh-LCN2 decreases food intake by 21%, without overt side effects. These studies demonstrate the biology of LCN2 as a satiety factor and indicator and anorexigenic signal in primates. Failure to stimulate postprandial LCN2 in individuals with obesity may contribute to metabolic dysregulation, suggesting that LCN2 may be a novel target for obesity treatment.

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