EMBO J (2012) 31 22, 4276–4288 doi:; DOI: 10.1038/emboj.2012.250; published online September 18 2012
AgRP/NPY neurons are critical regulators of body weight and food intake. Concordant with their orexigenic effects, it is expected that AgRP ablation leads to the appearance of a lean phenotype. In the current issue of The EMBO Journal, Joly-Amado et al (2012) describe an obese phenotype in a model of AgRP-ablated mice, and link it to a shift in metabolic profile in efferent tissues such as the liver, muscle and pancreas.