Cited by 141Eating Disorders and BehaviorsRegulation of Appetite and ObesityHypothalamic control of reproductive hormones

Autoantibodies against α-MSH, ACTH, and LHRH in anorexia and bulimia nervosa patients

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Fetissov, Sergueï O., Hallman, Jarmila, Oreland, Lars, af Klinteberg, Britt, Grenbäck, Eva, Hulting, Anna-Lena, Hökfelt, Tomas·2002·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract

The hypothalamic arcuate nucleus is involved in the control of energy intake and expenditure and may participate in the pathogenesis of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Two systems are of particular interest in this respect, synthesizing alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) and synthesizing neuropeptide Y, respectively. We report here that 42 of 57 (74%) AN andor BN patients studied had in their plasma Abs that bind to melanotropes andor corticotropes in the rat pituitary. Among these sera, 8 were found to bind selectively to alpha-MSH-positive neurons and their hypothalamic and extrahypothalamic projections as revealed with immunostaining on rat brain sections. Adsorption of these sera with alpha-MSH peptide abolished this immunostaining. In the pituitary, the immunostaining was blocked by adsorption with alpha-MSH or adrenocorticotropic hormone. Additionally, 3 ANBN sera bound to luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH)-positive terminals in the rat median eminence, but only 2 of them were adsorbed with LHRH. In the control subjects, 2 of 13 sera (16%) displayed similar to ANBN staining. These data provide evidence that a significant subpopulation of ANBN patients have autoantibodies that bind to alpha-MSH or adrenocorticotropic hormone, a finding pointing also to involvement of the stress axis. It remains to be established whether these Abs interfere with normal signal transduction in the brain melanocortin circuitryLHRH system andor in other central and peripheral sites relevant to food intake regulation, to what extent such effects are related to andor could be involved in the pathophysiology or clinical presentation of ANBN, and to what extent increased stress is an important factor for production of these autoantibodies.

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Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.222658699

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  • Autoantibodies directed against α-MSH have been discovered in both healthy individuals and subjects with eating disorders.

    “Autoantibodies directed against the peptide α-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH), which is involved in appetite control, have been discovered in both healthy individuals and in subjects with eating disorders (Fetissov et al., 2002;Fetissov et al., 2008).”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Fetissov et al., 2002

  • A subgroup of patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa had autoantibodies that bind to α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, and the circulating level of these autoantibodies was correlated with psychological traits of eating disorders.

    “Fetissov and colleagues [45,46] revealed that a subgroup of patients with AN and BN had autoantibodies that bind to the α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH), and the circulating level of these autoantibodies was correlated with the psychological traits of eating disorders.”

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Authors
Fetissov, S. O., Hallman, J., Oreland, L., af Klinteberg, B., Grenbäck, E., Hulting, A.-L., & Hökfelt, T.
Affiliations
  • Departments of Neuroscience and Endocrinology, Karolinska Institute, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Neuroscience, Biomedical Center, SE-751 24 Uppsala, Sweden; and Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
  • Uppsala University (SE)
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2002-12-16
Volume
99
Issue
26
Pages
17155-17160
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W2028553430
Cited by
140
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 3
FWCI
9.28
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Regulation of Appetite and Obesity
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones
Keywords
autoantibodies, alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, ACTH, gonadotropin-releasing hormone, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, eating disorders, hypothalamic arcuate nucleus, melanocortin system, neuropeptide Y, stress axis, pituitary gland, median eminence, food intake regulation
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Adult, alpha-MSH, Animals, Anorexia, Autoantibodies, Bulimia, Female, Humans, Immunohistochemistry, Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone, Male, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Rats

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