Browsing by Author "Morselli, Eugenia"

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    A sexually dimorphic hypothalamic response to chronic high-fat diet consumption
    (2016) Morselli, Eugenia; Frank, A.; Palmer, B.; Rodriguez-Navas, C.; Criollo, A.; Clegg, D.
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    A single bout of resistance exercise triggers mitophagy, potentially involving the ejection of mitochondria in human skeletal muscle
    (2024) Diaz-Castro, Francisco; Tunon-Suarez, Mauro; Rivera, Patricia; Botella, Javier; Cancino, Jorge; Figueroa, Ana Maria; Gutierrez, Juan; Cantin, Claudette; Deldicque, Louise; Zbinden-Foncea, Hermann; Nielsen, Joachim; Henriquez-Olguin, Carlos; Morselli, Eugenia; Castro-Sepulveda, Mauricio
    AimThe present study aimed to investigate the effects of a single bout of resistance exercise on mitophagy in human skeletal muscle (SkM).MethodsEight healthy men were recruited to complete an acute bout of one-leg resistance exercise. SkM biopsies were obtained one hour after exercise in the resting leg (Rest-leg) and the contracting leg (Ex-leg). Mitophagy was assessed using protein-related abundance, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and fluorescence microscopy.ResultsOur results show that acute resistance exercise increased pro-fission protein phosphorylation (DRP1Ser616) and decreased mitophagy markers such as PARKIN and BNIP3L/NIX protein abundance in the Ex-leg. Additionally, mitochondrial complex IV decreased in the Ex-leg when compared to the Rest-leg. In the Ex-leg, TEM and immunofluorescence images showed mitochondrial cristae abnormalities, a mitochondrial fission phenotype, and increased mitophagosome-like structures in both subsarcolemmal and intermyofibrillar mitochondria. We also observed increased mitophagosome-like structures on the subsarcolemmal cleft and mitochondria in the extracellular space of SkM in the Ex-leg. We stimulated human primary myotubes with CCCP, which mimics mitophagy induction in the Ex-leg, and found that BNIP3L/NIX protein abundance decreased independently of lysosomal degradation. Finally, in another human cohort, we found a negative association between BNIP3L/NIX protein abundance with both mitophagosome-like structures and mitochondrial cristae density in the SkM.ConclusionThe findings suggest that a single bout of resistance exercise can initiate mitophagy, potentially involving mitochondrial ejection, in human skeletal muscle. BNIP3L/NIX is proposed as a sensitive marker for assessing mitophagy flux in SkM.
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    El ácido palmítico reduce la sensibilidad a insulina de neuronas hipotalámicas: rol de la autofagia y del receptor FFAR1/GPR40
    (2022) Toledo Valenzuela, Lilian Alejandra; Morselli, Eugenia; Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas
    La diabetes mellitus tipo 2 es una compleja enfermedad metabólica caracterizada por una hiperglicemia crónica, que puede ser debida a una disminución en la sensibilidad a la insulina, a una reducción en su secreción o una combinación de ambas. El consumo de una dieta alta en grasas, abundante en ácido palmítico, favorece el desarrollo de esta enfermedad. El ácido palmítico disminuye la sensibilidad a la insulina en todo el organismo, incluyendo las neuronas hipotalámicas, que inhiben la producción de glucosa hepática (PGH) clave en la regulación de la glicemia. La acumulación hipotalámica de ácido palmítico reduce la supresión de la PGH, lo cual podría causar una menor sensibilidad a insulina en estos animales; sin embargo, esto aún no ha sido dilucidado. Respecto al mecanismo, se ha descrito que la activación por ácido palmítico del Receptor de Ácidos Grasos Libres 1 FFAR1/GPR40, disminuye la respuesta a la insulina en células β-pancreáticas, aunque no se ha evaluado si también reduce la sensibilidad a insulina en neuronas hipotalámicas, y si esto se traduce en una menor captación de glucosa mediada por insulina. Por otra parte, hemos demostrado que la autofagia, un proceso de degradación y reciclaje esencial para la homeostasis celular, se inhibe por la activación de FFAR1/GPR40 por ácido palmítico en neuronas hipotalámicas. La inhibición de la autofagia se asocia con una menor sensibilidad a la insulina en diversas células, por lo que resulta relevante evaluar si su bloqueo por ácido palmítico reduce la sensibilidad a la insulina en neuronas hipotalámicas. En base a la evidencia expuesta previamente, este proyecto está enfocado en determinar si el ácido palmítico, a través del receptor de ácidos grasos libres 1 (FFAR1/GPR40) y por medio de la inhibición de la autofagia, reduce la sensibilidad a la insulina en neuronas hipotalámicas. Por otro lado, queremos determinar si la infusión intracerebroventricular (ICV) de ácido palmítico reduce la sensibilidad a la insulina en ratones C57BL/6. Nuestros resultados muestran que el ácido palmítico reduce la sensibilidad a la insulina de las neuronas hipotalámicas por un mecanismo que incluye tanto la activación de FFAR1/GPR40 como defectos en la autofagia, reduciendo la activación de la vía PI3K/AKT y disminuyendo la captación de glucosa inducida por insulina en neuronas hipotalámicas. Finalmente, nuestros datos sugieren que la infusión hipotalámica de ácido palmítico reduce la tolerancia a la glucosa y disminuye los niveles plasmáticos de insulina en ratones C57BL/6. Este proyecto provee nueva información acerca de cómo el ácido palmítico favorece el desarrollo de diabetes mellitus tipo 2, dando énfasis en la función de FFAR1/GPR40 en las neuronas hipotalámicas y considerando a la autofagia como un mecanismo de regulación de la sensibilidad a insulina en estas células. Estos resultados podrían ser un precedente para futuros estudios enfocados en el rol de la autofagia en neuronas hipotalámicas y su relevancia en la regulación de la glicemia.
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    AGPAT2 deficiency impairs adipogenic differentiation in primary cultured preadipocytes in a non-autophagy or apoptosis dependent mechanism
    (2015) Fernandez Galilea, Marta; Tapia, Pablo; Cautivo Reyes, Kelly Margarita; Morselli, Eugenia; Cortés Mora, Víctor Antonio
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    Autophagy and oxidative stress in non-communicable diseases: A matter of the inflammatory state?
    (2018) Pena-Oyarzun, Daniel; Bravo-Sagua, Roberto; Diaz-Vega, Alexis; Aleman, Larissa; Chiong, Mario; Garcia, Lorena; Bambs S., Claudia; Troncoso, Rodrigo; Cifuentes, Mariana; Morselli, Eugenia; Ferreccio Readi, Catterina; Quest, Andrew F. G.; Criollo, Alfred
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    Chronic High Fat Diet Consumption Impairs Metabolic Health of Male Mice
    (2014) Morselli, Eugenia; Criollo, A.; Rodríguez Navas, C.; Clegg, D. J.
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    Corrigendum: Impact of short and long exposure to cafeteria diet on food intake and white adipose tissue lipolysis mediated by glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor
    (FRONTIERS MEDIA SA, 2023) Mattar, Pamela; Jaque, Cristian; Teske, Jennifer A.; Morselli, Eugenia; Kerr, Bredford; Cortes Mora, Víctor Antonio; Baudrand, Rene; Perez-Leighton, Claudio E. E.
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    Evidence of autophagic vesicles in a patient with Lisch corneal dystrophy
    (2020) Grau, Arturo E.; Gonzalez, Sergio; Zoroquiain, Pablo; Gonzalez, Pablo A.; Khaliliyeh, Daniela; Morselli, Eugenia; Cortes, Dennis
    Lisch corneal dystrophy is a rare corneal disease characterized by the distinctive feature of highly vacuolated cells. Although this feature is important, the nature of these vacuoles within corneal cells remains unknown. Here, we sought to analyze corneal cells from a patient diagnosed with Lisch dystrophy to characterize the vacuoles within these cells. Analyses using histopathology examination, confocal microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were all consistent with previous descriptions of Lisch cells. Importantly, the vacuoles within these cells appeared to be autophagosomes and autolysosomes, and could be stained with an anti-microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3 (LC3) antibody. Taken together, these findings indicate that the vacuoles we observed within superficial corneal cells of a patient with Lisch corneal dystrophy constituted autophagosomes and autolysosomes; this finding has not been previously reported and suggests a need for further analyses to define the role of autophagy in this ocular disease.
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    Fibroblast Primary Cilia Are Required for Cardiac Fibrosis
    (2019) Villalobos, Elisa; Criollo, Alfredo; Schiattarella, Gabriele G.; Altamirano, Francisco; French, Kristin M.; May, Herman, I; Jiang, Nan; Ngoc Uyen Nhi Nguyen; Romero, Diego; Carlos Roa, Juan; Garcia, Lorena; Diaz-Araya, Guillermo; Morselli, Eugenia; Ferdous, Anwarul; Conway, Simon J.; Sadek, Hesham A.; Gillette, Thomas G.; Lavandero, Sergio; Hill, Joseph A.
    BACKGROUND: The primary cilium is a singular cellular structure that extends from the surface of many cell types and plays crucial roles in vertebrate development, including that of the heart. Whereas ciliated cells have been described in developing heart, a role for primary cilia in adult heart has not been reported. This, coupled with the fact that mutations in genes coding for multiple ciliary proteins underlie polycystic kidney disease, a disorder with numerous cardiovascular manifestations, prompted us to identify cells in adult heart harboring a primary cilium and to determine whether primary cilia play a role in disease-related remodeling.
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    Hyperosmotic stress stimulates autophagy via polycystin-2
    (2017) Pena, D.; Troncoso, R.; Kretschmar, C.; Hernando, C.; Budini, M.; Morselli, Eugenia; Lavandero, S.; Criollo, A.
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    Hypothalamic PGC-1 alpha Protects Against High-Fat Diet Exposure by Regulating ER alpha
    (2014) Morselli, Eugenia; Fuente-Martin, E.; Finan, B.; Kim, M.; Frank, A.; Garcia-Caceres, C.; Navas, C.; Gordillo, R.; Neinast, M.
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    Impact of estrogens and estrogen receptor-a in brain lipid metabolism
    (2018) Morselli, Eugenia; de Souza Santos, Roberta; Gao, Su; Ávalos, Yenniffer; Criollo, Alfredo; Palmer, Biff F.; Clegg, Deborah J.
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    Impact of short and long exposure to cafeteria diet on food intake and white adipose tissue lipolysis mediated by glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor
    (2023) Mattar, Pamela; Jaque, Cristian; Teske, Jennifer A.; Morselli, Eugenia; Kerr, Bredford; Cortes, Victor; Baudrand, Rene; Perez-Leighton, Claudio E.
    IntroductionThe modern food environment facilitates excessive calorie intake, a major driver of obesity. Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1) is a neuroendocrine peptide that has been the basis for developing new pharmacotherapies against obesity. The GLP1 receptor (GLP1R) is expressed in central and peripheral tissues, and activation of GLP1R reduces food intake, increases the expression of thermogenic proteins in brown adipose tissue (BAT), and enhances lipolysis in white adipose tissue (WAT). Obesity decreases the efficiency of GLP1R agonists in reducing food intake and body weight. Still, whether palatable food intake before or during the early development of obesity reduces the effects of GLP1R agonists on food intake and adipose tissue metabolism remains undetermined. Further, whether GLP1R expressed in WAT contributes to these effects is unclear. MethodsFood intake, expression of thermogenic BAT proteins, and WAT lipolysis were measured after central or peripheral administration of Exendin-4 (EX4), a GLP1R agonist, to mice under intermittent-short exposure to CAF diet (3 h/d for 8 days) or a longer-continuous exposure to CAF diet (24 h/d for 15 days). Ex-vivo lipolysis was measured after EX4 exposure to WAT samples from mice fed CAF or control diet for 12 weeks. . ResultsDuring intermittent-short exposure to CAF diet (3 h/d for 8 days), third ventricle injection (ICV) and intra-peritoneal administration of EX4 reduced palatable food intake. Yet, during a longer-continuous exposure to CAF diet (24 h/d for 15 days), only ICV EX4 administration reduced food intake and body weight. However, this exposure to CAF diet blocked the increase in uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) caused by ICV EX4 administration in mice fed control diet. Finally, GLP1R expression in WAT was minimal, and EX4 failed to increase lipolysis ex-vivo in WAT tissue samples from mice fed CAF or control diet for 12 weeks. . DiscussionExposure to a CAF diet during the early stages of obesity reduces the effects of peripheral and central GLP1R agonists, and WAT does not express a functional GLP1 receptor. These data support that exposure to the obesogenic food environment, without the development or manifestation of obesity, can alter the response to GLP1R agonists. .
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    Integrating the effects of sucrose intake on the brain and white adipose tissue: Could autophagy be a possible link?
    (WILEY, 2022) Mattar, Pamela; Toledo-Valenzuela, Lilian; Paz Hernandez-Caceres, María; Pena-Oyarzun, Daniel; Morselli, Eugenia; Perez Leighton Claudio Esteban
    Excess dietary sucrose is associated with obesity and metabolic diseases. This relationship is driven by the malfunction of several cell types and tissues critical for the regulation of energy balance, including hypothalamic neurons and white adipose tissue (WAT). However, the mechanisms behind these effects of dietary sucrose are still unclear and might be independent of increased adiposity. Accumulating evidence has indicated that dysregulation of autophagy, a fundamental process for maintenance of cellular homeostasis, alters energy metabolism in hypothalamic neurons and WAT, but whether autophagy could mediate the detrimental effects of dietary sucrose on hypothalamic neurons and WAT that contribute to weight gain is a matter of debate. In this review, we examine the hypothesis that dysregulated autophagy in hypothalamic neurons and WAT is an adiposity-independent effect of sucrose that contributes to increased body weight gain. We propose that excess dietary sucrose leads to autophagy unbalance in hypothalamic neurons and WAT, which increases caloric intake and body weight, favoring the emergence of obesity and metabolic diseases.
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    Limited Heme Oxygenase Contribution to Modulating the Severity of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium Infection
    (SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG, 2022) Sebastian, Valentina P.; Moreno-Tapia, Daniela; Melo-Gonzalez, Felipe; Hernandez-Caceres, Maria P.; Salazar, Geraldyne A.; Pardo-Roa, Catalina; Farias, Monica A.; Vallejos, Omar P.; Schultz, Barbara M.; Morselli, Eugenia; Alvarez-Lobos, Manuel M.; Gonzalez, Pablo A.; Kalergis, Alexis M.; Bueno, Susan M.
    An important virulence trait of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) is the ability to avoid the host immune response, generating systemic and persistent infections. Host cells play a crucial role in bacterial clearance by expressing the enzyme heme oxygenase 1 (Hmox1), which catalyzes the degradation of heme groups into Fe2+, biliverdin, and carbon monoxide (CO). The role of Hmox1 activity during S. Typhimurium infection is not clear and previous studies have shown contradictory results. We evaluated the effect of pharmacologic modulation of Hmox1 in a mouse model of acute and persistent S. Typhimurium infection by administering the Hmox1 activity inductor cobalt protoporphyrin-IX (CoPP) or inhibitor tin protoporphyrin-IX (SnPP) before infection. To evaluate the molecular mechanism involved, we measured the colocalization of S. Typhimurium and autophagosome and lysosomal markers in macrophages. Administering CoPP reduced the bacterial burden in organs of mice 5 days post-infection, while SnPP-treated mice showed bacterial loads similar to vehicle-treated mice. Furthermore, CoPP reduced bacterial loads when administered after infection in macrophages in vitro and in a persistent infection model of S. Typhimurium in vivo, while tin protoporphyrin-IX (SnPP) treatment resulted in a bacterial burden similar to vehicle-treated controls. However, we did not observe significant differences in co-localization of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labeled S. Typhimurium with the autophagic vesicles marker microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3 (LC3) and the lysosomal marker lysosomal-associated membrane protein 1 (LAMP-1) in macrophages treated with CoPP. Our results suggest that CoPP can enhance antimicrobial activity in response to Salmonella infection, reducing bacterial dissemination and persistence in mice, in a CO and autophagy- independent manner.
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    Mechanoautophagy: Synergies Between Autophagy and Cell Mechanotransduction at Adhesive Complexes
    (FRONTIERS MEDIA SA, 2022) Ravasio, Andrea; Morselli, Eugenia; Bertocchi, Cristina
    Cells are exposed and respond to various mechanical forces and physical cues stemming from their environment. This interaction has been seen to differentially regulate various cellular processes for maintenance of homeostasis, of which autophagy represents one of the major players. In addition, autophagy has been suggested to regulate mechanical functions of the cells including their interaction with the environment. In this minireview, we summarize the state of the art of the fascinating interplay between autophagy and the mechanotransduction machinery associated with cell adhesions, that we name center dot Mechanoautophagy center dot
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    Modulación de la capacidad de invasión y adquisición de un fenotipo tipo endotelial en células del trofoblasto extravelloso: rol de la autofagia y las LDL oxidadas
    (2023) Carvajal Rios, Lorena Paz; Morselli, Eugenia; Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas
    La placenta es un órgano temporal que se desarrolla a través de procesos celulares dinámicos en condiciones fisiológicas de estrés. En este contexto, se ha descrito que la autofagia, podría ser necesaria para el proceso de placentación. Sin embargo, si la activación de autofagia representa una reacción adaptativa, o como la modulación de autofagia puede afectar la capacidad de invasión y diferenciación de los trofoblastos extravellosos (EVT), aún no se ha descrito en detalle. Debido a la importancia que estos fenómenos tienen para un embarazo exitoso, el estudio de como la autofagia podría regularlos, así como también el estudio de elementos que actúen como reguladores de ella como las lipoproteínas de baja densidad oxidadas (ox-LDL), podría contribuir a comprender de mejor forma eventos asociados a complicaciones del embarazo relacionadas al desarrollo anormal de la placenta, como la preeclampsia (PE). Por esto, las hipótesis de esta tesis son: 1) Los niveles elevados de ox-LDL aumentan el flujo autofágico en un modelo celular de trofoblasto extravelloso, disminuyendo la capacidad de invasión y de diferenciación hacia un fenotipo con características endoteliales en estas células y 2) Los niveles de ox-LDL y de marcadores del flujo autofágico aumentan en placentas de término de embarazos humanos con preeclampsia comparado con embarazos fisiológicos. Para evaluar las hipótesis, nuestros objetivos fueron: (1) Determinar el efecto de la modulación de la autofagia sobre los procesos de invasión y de diferenciación hacia un fenotipo con características endoteliales en una línea celular de trofoblastos de primer trimestre. (2) Determinar el efecto de ox-LDL sobre la modulación de la autofagia y los procesos de invasión y de diferenciación hacia fenotipo con características endoteliales en una línea celular de trofoblastos extravellosos de primer trimestre y (3) Determinar los niveles de marcadores de flujo autofágico y la abundancia de ox- LDL en muestras de plasma materno y/o placentas de embarazadas controles y con preeclampsia, así como también el/los tipos celulares en los que ocurren los cambios en estos marcadores. Realizamos los ensayos de invasión y diferenciación utilizando la línea celular de trofoblastos extravellosos de primer trimestre HTR8/Svneo y determinamos que al inhibir autofagia no hay cambios en la invasión; sin embargo, al evaluar la formación de estructuras reticulares en los ensayos de diferenciación hacia un fenotipo con características endoteliales, se determinó una disminución en la capacidad de formar redes. A continuación, determinamos que al activar autofagia hay una disminución de la invasión, no obstante, no hay cambios en la capacidad de formar redes. En conjunto estos resultados nos indican que para un adecuado remodelamiento vascular se requeriría de una autofagia basal activa. Luego, determinamos el efecto de ox-LDL en estos procesos y se observó una disminución significativa de la invasión y de la capacidad de formar redes en el ensayo de diferenciación, sin cambios en el flujo autofágico, por lo que podríamos sugerir que las ox-LDL tendrían un rol en la regulación del proceso de placentación independiente de la autofagia. De forma interesante, en placentas de tercer trimestre con preeclampsia moderada observamos una disminución significativa en los niveles de ox-LDL al comparar con placentas control, sin cambios en preeclampsia severa. En estas placentas, no se determinaron cambios en marcadores de autofagia comparado con placentas de embarazos controles. En conclusión, las ox-LDL en modelo de EVT disminuyen el proceso de invasión y la capacidad de formar redes, sin embargo, no tienen efecto sobre el proceso de autofagia. Por otra parte, la capacidad de formar redes requiere autofagia basal activa. Es así como, tanto la modulación de autofagia como la exposición a ox-LDL en las células del trofoblasto extravelloso disminuirían el proceso de placentación a través de dos mecanismos independientes, lo que no se observa en placentas al término del embarazo.
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    New Roles of the Primary Cilium in Autophagy
    (2017) Avalos, Y.; Pena, D.; Budini, M.; Morselli, Eugenia; Criollo, A.
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    Novel insights into the non-canonical roles of PSMD14/POH1/Rpn11 in proteostasis and in the modulation of cancer progression
    (2023) Bustamante, Hianara A.; Albornoz, Nicolas; Morselli, Eugenia; Soza, Andrea; Burgos, Patricia V.
    PSMD14/POH1/Rpn11 plays a crucial role in cellular homeostasis. PSMD14 is a structural subunit of the lid subcomplex of the proteasome 19S regulatory particle with constitutive deubiquitinase activity. Canonically, PSMD14 removes the full ubiquitin chains with K48-linkages by hydrolyzing the isopeptide bond between the substrate and the C-terminus of the first ubiquitin, a crucial step for the entry of substrates into the catalytic barrel of the 20S proteasome and their subsequent degradation, all in context of the 26S proteasome. However, more recent discoveries indicate PSMD14 DUB activity is not only coupled to the translocation of substrates into the core of 20S proteasome. During the assembly of the lid, activity of PSMD14 has been detected in the context of the heterodimer with PSMD7. Additionally, assembly of the lid subcomplex occurs as an independent event of the base subcomplex and 20S proteasome. This feature opens the possibility that the regulatory particle, free lid subcomplex or the heterodimer PSMD14-PSMD7 might play other physiological roles including a positive function on protein stability through deubiquitination. Here we discuss scenarios that could enhance this PSMD14 non-canonical pathway, the potential impact in preventing degradation of substrates by autophagy highlighting the main findings that support this hypothesis. Finally, we discuss why this information should be investigated in biomedicine specifically with focus on cancer progression to design new therapeutic strategies against the lid subcomplex and the heterodimer PSMD14-PSMD7, highlighting PSMD14 as a druggable target for cancer therapy.
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    Palmitic acid control of ciliogenesis modulates insulin signaling in hypothalamic neurons through an autophagy-dependent mechanism
    (SPRINGERNATURE, 2022) Avalos, Yenniffer; Paz Hernandez-Caceres, Maria; Lagos, Pablo; Pinto-Nunez, Daniela; Rivera, Patricia; Burgos, Paulina; Diaz-Castro, Francisco; Joy-Immediato, Michelle; Venegas-Zamora, Leslye; Lopez-Gallardo, Erik; Kretschmar, Catalina; Batista-Gonzalez, Ana; Cifuentes-Araneda, Flavia; Toledo-Valenzuela, Lilian; Rodriguez-Pena, Marcelo; Espinoza-Caicedo, Jasson; Perez-Leighton, Claudio; Bertocchi, Cristina; Cerda, Mauricio; Troncoso, Rodrigo; Parra, Valentina; Budini, Mauricio; Burgos, Patricia, V; Criollo, Alfredo; Morselli, Eugenia
    Palmitic acid (PA) is significantly increased in the hypothalamus of mice, when fed chronically with a high-fat diet (HFD). PA impairs insulin signaling in hypothalamic neurons, by a mechanism dependent on autophagy, a process of lysosomal-mediated degradation of cytoplasmic material. In addition, previous work shows a crosstalk between autophagy and the primary cilium (hereafter cilium), an antenna-like structure on the cell surface that acts as a signaling platform for the cell. Ciliopathies, human diseases characterized by cilia dysfunction, manifest, type 2 diabetes, among other features, suggesting a role of the cilium in insulin signaling. Cilium depletion in hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons triggers obesity and insulin resistance in mice, the same phenotype as mice deficient in autophagy in POMC neurons. Here we investigated the effect of chronic consumption of HFD on cilia; and our results indicate that chronic feeding with HFD reduces the percentage of cilia in hypothalamic POMC neurons. This effect may be due to an increased amount of PA, as treatment with this saturated fatty acid in vitro reduces the percentage of ciliated cells and cilia length in hypothalamic neurons. Importantly, the same effect of cilia depletion was obtained following chemical and genetic inhibition of autophagy, indicating autophagy is required for ciliogenesis. We further demonstrate a role for the cilium in insulin sensitivity, as cilium loss in hypothalamic neuronal cells disrupts insulin signaling and insulin-dependent glucose uptake, an effect that correlates with the ciliary localization of the insulin receptor (IR). Consistently, increased percentage of ciliated hypothalamic neuronal cells promotes insulin signaling, even when cells are exposed to PA. Altogether, our results indicate that, in hypothalamic neurons, impairment of autophagy, either by PA exposure, chemical or genetic manipulation, cause cilia loss that impairs insulin sensitivity.