ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology

To read the full abstract: Endocr Rev 2018;39:3,333

This review is interesting for several reasons. It focuses on a specific type of cells lining the wall of the third ventricle in the median eminence of the hypothalamus. This region acts both as a secretor of neuropeptides and as a sensor of the metabolic status of the periphery. These two functions imply a bidirectional physiological pathway: brain-to-periphery and vice-versa; different cellular mechanisms have been described. The interest developed for the last few years on the function of tanycytes in normal brain and their possible dysfunctions in neuroendocrine disorders has been justified by the importance to increase our knowledge on the control of the homeostasis by the brain. It is now obvious that tanycytes are involved in the control of key hypothalamic functions, such as reproduction and energy metabolism. These authors review recent evidence on the different types of tanycytes in the hypothalamus, their role in the blood-brain barrier, and also in the control of GnRH secretion. One paragraph is dedicated to the role of tanycytes in hypothalamic neurogenesis. This recent discovery was completely unexpected and opens a new area in neuroendocrine research. In the last part of this review, the authors discuss that tanycytes may be an interesting new therapeutic target not only in reproduction, but also in obesity and aging.