Role of Tanycytes in Individual and Social Behavior

Abstract:

Tanycytes, along with other glial cells, are located around the third ventricle among the hypothalamic neurons. These glial cells have been found to affect hypothalamic functions, such as energy homeostasis, appetite regulation, and thermoregulation. Specifically, tanycytes project their long processes to neurons in the hypothalamic nuclei to influence energy metabolism. A notable metabolic function of tanycytes is their ability to sense glucose levels. Tanycytes are not only involved in metabolism, but are also involved in eating disorders, such as anorexia and cachexia. It has been demonstrated that any dysfunction of tanycytes can have an impact on not only individual metabolic behavior, but also social cognitive behavior. Tanycytes have recently been hypothesized to play a role in the development and onset of social cognitive behaviors. Among these are schizophrenia (SCZ) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), two major disorders that have been studied in relation to tanycyte morphology and physiology. ASD generally begins with a display of language delays during early childhood, while clinical appearance of SCZ initially occurs in late adolescence. Knowledge about the basic molecular and behavioral pathology of SCZ and ASD allows further investigation to establish the link between tanycytes and social cognitive behavior. As the tanycytes are mainly located in the hypothalamic parenchyma affecting hypothalamic metabolic function, this review calls into question the association between tanycytes in the hypothalamus and neurodevelopmental disorders that could potentially reveal etiology of major neuropsychiatric disorders.