Central control of feeding behavior by neuropeptide Y

Obesity is a serious health problem in the Western societies, therefore its treatment has become the subject of intense interest in the scientific community. A significant number of recent publications enlist different central and peripheral factors which play important roles in the regulation of food intake, body weight and energy expenditure. Neuropeptide Y, a 36 amino acid peptide, which is quite abundant in the brain, seems to be one of the more important players in these regulations. Recently five NPY receptors have been cloned and pharmacological evidence strongly supports the existence of a sixth receptor. There are many contradictory findings regarding which NPY receptor mediates the effect of NPY on food intake. This article will review the effects of NPY on the regulation of food intake and energy expenditure and will discuss the pharmacological and molecular evidence as to which NPY receptor(s) mediate this effect. The review will also summarize the progress which has been made in the design of novel NPY-ergic ligands, especially NPY receptor antagonists, for potential use in the treatment of obesity.