Insulin resistance in novel POMC/GFP cell lines

POMC neurons are crucial for energy homeostasis, and require proper regulation by metabolic hormones, such as insulin. However, in the heterogeneous cell population of the hypothalamus it is difficult to study the molecular mechanisms of POMC neurons: there is a complete lack of mature cell models for study. Nazarians-Armavil and colleagues have generated novel, immortalized, adult-derived POMC-expressing/α-MSH-secreting cell models, representing the fluorescence-activated cell-sorted POMC population from primary POMC-eGFP mouse hypothalamus. They go on to confirm the presence of Pomc mRNA and α-MSH; observe response to ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and insulin; and the activation of IR-mediated downstream second messengers. The development of these immortalized neurons will be invaluable for the elucidation of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie POMC neuron function under normal and perturbed physiological conditions.

Read the full article at Nazarians-Armavil et al. (2014) Journal of Endocrinology 220; 13–24; DOI:10.1530/JOE-13-0334