Shane T. Hentges, PhDAssistant Professor Phone: 970-491-5086 Education Link to a PubMed listing of Dr. Hentges's publications: |
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Research Interests
The regulation of energy balance is a complex physiologic process. At the level of the central nervous system, food intake and energy metabolism are regulated by extensive neural networks using a variety of transmitters. To understand how energy balance is coordinated in this complex neuronal circuitry, a detailed understanding of the cellular physiology of each type of neuron involved is necessary. My lab studies how neurons in the hypothalamus are regulated and how these neurons communicate synaptically with each other as well as other neurons in the larger neural networks that affect energy balance.
Current studies in this lab are primarily focused on the proopiomelanocortin neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus. These neurons play a critical role in maintaining energy balance through the release of the peptide alpha-MSH and affect aspects of food reward through the release of the endogenous opioid beta-endorphin. These neurons also release classical neurotransmitters and endogenous cannabinoids (cell-derived lipids that act at the same receptors as the active compound in marijuana). We are currently working to determine what the release of these transmitters means in terms of food intake and the regulation of downstream neurons.
Proopiomelanocortin neurons express opioid and cannabinoid receptors and
receive synaptic input from other neurons that also express these receptors.
This provides a great system for us to study the release of endocannabinoids,
retrograde inhibition, and both presynaptic and postsynaptic actions at
the mu opioid receptor. Thus, we can learn about synaptic regulation, G-protein
coupled receptor signaling and cellular physiology while working towards
a better understanding of the circuits that regulate food intake and reward.
The primary methods used in the lab are patch clamp electrophysiology in
brain slices and primary neuronal cell cultures, retrograde labeling by
sterotaxic microinjection, immunofluorescence and confocal imaging. Transgenic
and knock-out mice are used routinely for our studies.
Representative Publications
Hentges ST. 2007. Synaptic regulation of proopiomelanocortin neurons can occur distal to the arcuate nucleus. J Neurophysiol 97(5):3298-3304.
Hentges ST, Low MJ, Williams JT. 2005. Differential regulation of synaptic inputs by constitutively released endocannabinoids and exogenous cannabinoids. J Neurosci 25(42):9746-9751.
Wang R, Liu X, Hentges ST, Dunn-Meynell AA, Levin BE, Wang W, Routh VH. 2004. The regulation of glucose-excited neurons in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus by glucose and feeding-relevant peptides. Diabetes 53(8):1959-1965.
Overstreet LS, Hentges ST, Bumaschny VF, de Souza FS, Smart JL, Santangelo AM, Low MJ, Westbrook G, Rubinstein M. 2004. A transgenic marker for newly born granule cells in dentate gyrus. J Neurosci 24(13):3251-3259.
Hentges ST, Nishiyama M, Overstreet LS, Stenzel-Poore M, Williams JT, Low MJ. 2004. GABA release from proopiomelanocortin neurons. J Neurosci 24(7):1578-1583.
