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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Membrane Potential Dye Imaging of Ventromedial Hypothalamus Neurons From Adult Mice to Study Glucose Sensing
Published on: November 27, 2013
Developmental expression of glucokinase in rat hypothalamus
Vicki L Sutherland1, Matthew McReynolds, Linda S Tompkins
1Department of Physiology, Arizona Health Sciences Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA.
Abstract:
Neurons in the hypothalamus sense changes in glucose concentration. Glucokinase (GK), a key enzyme for pancreatic (beta)-cell glucose sensing, was found in both the embryonic and adult hypothalamus. GK activity accounted for approximately 20% of total hexokinase (HK) activity in both embryonic and adult hypothalamus with no activity measured in cortical samples, indicating that glucose sensing in the hypothalamus initiates early in development and precedes the maturation of glucose signaling in liver.
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