Figure 10.

Proposed mechanism of obesity development in DicerCKO mice. Within the hypothalamus, the ARC plays a crucial role in the control of the body energy homeostasis. Inactivation of Dicer in the adult neurons of this nucleus leads to chronic overactivation of the PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway and severe hyperphagic obesity. Delivery of either rapamycin, an mTOR complex 1 inhibitor, or miR-103 mimic normalizes the activity of the PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway and attenuates the obesity phenotype in these mice. 3V, Third ventricle of the brain.