Probes for INS

Neural circuits for appetites are regulated by both homeostatic perturbations and ingestive behaviour. However, the circuit organization that integrates these internal and external stimuli is unclear. Here we show in mice that excitatory neural populations in the lamina terminalis form a hierarchical circuit architecture to regulate thirst. Among them, nitric oxide synthase-expressing neurons in the median preoptic nucleus (MnPO) are essential for the integration of signals from the thirst-driving neurons of the subfornical organ (SFO). Conversely, a distinct inhibitory circuit, involving MnPO GABAergic neurons that express glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP1R), is activated immediately upon drinking and monosynaptically inhibits SFO thirst neurons. These responses are induced by the ingestion of fluids but not solids, and are time-locked to the onset and offset of drinking. Furthermore, loss-of-function manipulations of GLP1R-expressing MnPO neurons lead to a polydipsic, overdrinking phenotype. These neurons therefore facilitate rapid satiety of thirst by monitoring real-time fluid ingestion. Our study reveals dynamic thirst circuits that integrate the homeostatic-instinctive requirement for fluids and the consequent drinking behaviour to maintain internal water balance.

Organogenesis requires the complex interactions of multiple cell lineages that coordinate their expansion, differentiation, and maturation over time. Here, we profile the cell types within the epithelial and mesenchymal compartments of the murine pancreas across developmental time using a combination of single-cell RNA sequencing, immunofluorescence, in situ hybridization, and genetic lineage tracing. We identify previously underappreciated cellular heterogeneity of the developing mesenchyme and reconstruct potential lineage relationships among the pancreatic mesothelium and mesenchymal cell types. Within the epithelium, we find a previously undescribed endocrine progenitor population, as well as an analogous population in both human fetal tissue and human embryonic stem cells differentiating toward a pancreatic beta cell fate. Further, we identify candidate transcriptional regulators along the differentiation trajectory of this population toward the alpha or beta cell lineages. This work establishes a roadmap of pancreatic development and demonstrates the broad utility of this approach for understanding lineage dynamics in developing organs.

Single-cell RNA sequencing has generated catalogs of transcriptionally defined neuronal subtypes of the brain. However, the cellular processes that contribute to neuronal subtype specification and transcriptional heterogeneity remain unclear. By comparing the gene expression profiles of single layer 6 corticothalamic neurons in somatosensory cortex, we show that transcriptional subtypes primarily reflect axonal projection pattern, laminar position within the cortex, and neuronal activity state. Pseudotemporal ordering of 1,023 cellular responses to sensory manipulation demonstrates that changes in expression of activity-induced genes both reinforced cell-type identity and contributed to increased transcriptional heterogeneity within each cell type. This is due to cell-type biased choices of transcriptional states following manipulation of neuronal activity. These results reveal that axonal projection pattern, laminar position, and activity state define significant axes of variation that contribute both to the transcriptional identity of individual neurons and to the transcriptional heterogeneity within each neuronal subtype.

Pain thresholds are, in part, set as a function of emotional and internal states by descending modulation of nociceptive transmission in the spinal cord. Neurons of the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) are thought to critically contribute to this process; however, the neural circuits and synaptic mechanisms by which distinct populations of RVM neurons facilitate or diminish pain remain elusive. Here we used in vivo opto/chemogenetic manipulations and trans-synaptic tracing of genetically identified dorsal horn and RVM neurons to uncover an RVM-spinal cord-primary afferent circuit controlling pain thresholds. Unexpectedly, we found that RVM GABAergic neurons facilitate mechanical pain by inhibiting dorsal horn enkephalinergic/GABAergic interneurons. We further demonstrate that these interneurons gate sensory inputs and control pain through temporally coordinated enkephalin- and GABA-mediated presynaptic inhibition of somatosensory neurons. Our results uncover a descending disynaptic inhibitory circuit that facilitates mechanical pain, is engaged during stress, and could be targeted to establish higher pain thresholds.