Alain Stricker-Krongrad

To identify new drug targets for the treatment of obesity, we employed a degenerate reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction technique to isolate novel members of the G-protein coupled receptor superfamily from mouse hypothalamus. One of our clones was found to encode a protein with 90% amino acid identity to human GPR10, which was previously identified as the receptor for prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP) and has been implicated in lactation, the regulation of food intake and other physiological functions. To investigate the role of GPR10 in food intake and body weight homeostasis, we generated mice carrying a targeted deletion of the GPR10 gene. First, using these knockout animals, we confirmed that GPR10 is the principle receptor for PrRP in the mouse hypothalamus because deletion of GPR10 completely abolished PrRP binding to isolated hypothalamic cell membranes. Second, we investigated the effect of normal and high-fat diets on energy intake, body weight, and glucose homeostasis in wild-type and GPR10 knockout mice. After fasting and refeeding, food intake in knockout animals was unchanged relative to control littermates. However, beginning at 16 wk of age on a normal diet, knockout mice became hyperphagic, obese, and showed significant increases in body fat and the levels of leptin and insulin, as well as decreased glucose tolerance. This metabolic profile was similar to the effect of a high-fat diet on wild-type animals. Our findings provide direct evidence that GPR10 is the receptor for PrRP and that it is involved in the regulation of energy balance in mice. GPR10 knockout mice will also prove useful for investigating other proposed activities for PrRP.