Obesogenic effects of warm temperature involve feeding adaptation by preoptic area leptin receptor neurons.

Obesogenic effects of warm temperature involve feeding adaptation by preoptic area leptin receptor neurons. | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Obesogenic effects of warm temperature involve feeding adaptation by preoptic area leptin receptor neurons. Heike Münzberg, Laura Kaiser, Nathan Lee, Jaclyn Williams, Michael Smith, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7032725/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 23 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Communications Biology → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The preoptic area (POA) is a well-established regulator of body temperature, but its role in feeding behavior remains underexplored. Our study identifies leptin receptor (Lepr)-expressing neurons in the POA (POALepr) as critical component to suppress food intake (FI) and increase satiety in response to warm ambient temperatures. Utilizing chemogenetic activation in mice of both sexes, we demonstrate that selective activation of POALepr neurons mimics the effects of warm temperatures, leading to a significant reduction in FI. POALepr neurons project to the melanocortin pathway, where activation of melanocortin-4 receptors (MC4R) also suppresses FI in a temperature-dependent manner. Our findings suggest that POALepr neurons integrate thermal and metabolic cues, demonstrating that ambient temperature is an integral part of body weight homeostasis by modulating meal size and satiety via POALepr neurons. These results offer new insights into the neurochemical and functional properties of POA functions, expanding the traditional view that the POA is exclusively involved in thermoregulation and underscoring its broader role in energy balance. Biological sciences/Physiology/Metabolism/Feeding behaviour/Obesity Biological sciences/Physiology/Metabolism/Feeding behaviour/Hypothalamus melanocortin-4-receptor fasting meal pattern satiety energy-state Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files 20250630tempdepFISupplementaryFiguresfinal.docx Supplementary Figures and Captions Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 23 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Communications Biology → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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