Endocrinology
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Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) is a recently discovered anorexigenic peptide. In rodents, CART inhibits food intake and is expressed in the anorexigenic alpha-MSH- but not in the orexigenic neuropeptide Y (NPY)- and agouti-related protein (AGRP)-synthesizing neurons of the arcuate nucleus. ⋯ In the lateral hypothalamus of the humans, colocalization of CART and melanin-concentrating hormone was observed, similar to that described in rodents. The anatomy of CART-containing neurons in the human infundibular nucleus differs markedly from that observed in the rodent brain, raising the question whether the colocalization of CART with orexigenic NPY and AGRP neurons is associated with an orexigenic role of CART in the human brain.