Fig. 1

Schematic illustration of identified neuronal clusters in the VMH involved in glucose homeostasis and other homeostatic responses. A The location of the hypothalamus in the brain in a sagittal section. B The location of the VMH in the hypothalamus in a coronal section. C Schematic presentations of anatomical structure and patterns of genes highly expressed in the VMH. The VMH contains a core and a shell region. The core region is comprised of three subdivisions (i.e., dmVMH, cVMH and vlVMH). Most neurons in the core region are glutamatergic, yet few of them are GABAergic. The majority of neurons in the shell are GABAergic. D GE vs. GI neurons in the VMH. GE and GI neurons are classified based on the effect of activation of each specific cluster of neurons in the VMH. For instance, some SF1 neurons are GE, and some are GI neurons. However, activation of SF1 neurons increases systemic blood glucose, we therefore classify SF1 neurons into GI neurons. 3 V, third ventricle. ARH, arcuate nucleus of hypothalamus. BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor. CCKBR, cholecystokinin receptor B. ERα, Estrogen receptor-α. GcK, glucokinase. LepRs, leptin receptors. MC3R, melanocortin 3 receptor. NOS1, nitric oxide synthase 1. PACAP, pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide. SF1, steroidogenic factor 1. VMH, ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus. These schematic diagrams were generated based on articles from Ref. [2]