# Neural circuits coordinating protein intake: Role of FGF21

> **NIH NIH R01** · LSU PENNINGTON BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CTR · 2020 · $321,995

## Abstract

Project Summary
Survival is contingent upon physiologically and behaviorally adapting to a changing nutritional environment,
and in mammals this homeostasis is largely mediated by nutritional hormones acting in the brain. Recent
decades have seen substantial progress in our understanding of the neural mechanisms mediating energy
intake and total food intake, but how animals sense individual macronutrients and self-select between them
remains poorly defined. Our lab has recently discovered that the liver-derived hormone FGF21 acts in the brain
as a signal of protein status. While normal mice adaptively ‘sense’ protein restriction and alter food intake in
order to specifically seek and consume protein, this response is lost in mice lacking FGF21 or brain FGF21
signaling. The project will define the brain areas and neural phenotypes mediating FGF21-dependent changes
in feeding behavior, and in doing so will provide the first insight into the neurobiology governing macronutrient
choice. Despite the importance of dietary composition and food choice to health, and despite persistent dietary
advice to change eating habits, we know almost nothing about how the brain controls dietary macronutrient
choice. Thus the work proposed in this application will substantially impact the field by rigorously probing the
novel mechanisms controlling feeding behavior.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10121819
- **Project number:** 1R01DK123083-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** LSU PENNINGTON BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Christopher D Morrison
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $321,995
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-15 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10121819

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10121819, Neural circuits coordinating protein intake: Role of FGF21 (1R01DK123083-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10121819. Licensed CC0.

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