SNX3, UBE2O and SNX27 Protein Expressions are Altered in the Hypothalamus of High-Fat Diet Fed Mice. Possible Implications for Retrograde Protein Trafficking

Obesity is a worldwide health problem characterized by overeating and satiety regulation breakdown. Arcuate nucleus (ARC) in the hypothalamus and controls energy homeostasis mainly through leptin binding to its receptors (ObR). Defective central response to leptin in obesity also involves impairment of endosomal ObR recycling, degradation, and trafficking, which compromises receptor steady state in the plasma membrane. Here we report that ARC from high-fat diet (HFD) mice presented alterations in the expression of proteins involved in endosomal retrograde transport. Indeed, we observed a significant decrease of SNX3 and UBE2O levels as analyzed by confocal microscopy, suggesting an impairment of the endosomal retrograde routein the ARC of HFD fed mice when compared to controls. On the other hand, the fast recycling protein marker, the SNX27, was upregulated in the ARC of HFD fed mice, suggesting that some kind of compensation is happening.