Hypothalamic Akt/PKB signaling in regulation of food intake

Recent tremendous advances in our understanding of the regulation of food intake are expected to contribute to the treatment of obesity in the near future. The hypothalamus is a center for regulation of food intake and NPY/AgRP and POMC neurons are key regulators of food intake in the arcuate nucleus. The level of energy in the body is monitored by energy sensors in the hypothalamus. A variety of signals originating from peripheral organs to sense the status of energy converge on the hypothalamus and diverse neurons in the hypothalamus are involved in determining the output of signal to regulate food intake. Therefore, it is important to understand the signals and energy sensors in the hypothalamus. In this review, we describe the potential role of Akt/PKB signaling as an energy sensor that regulates food intake.