The fertility and survival of an individual rely on the ability of the periphery to promptly, effectively, and reproducibly communicate with brain neural networks that control reproduction, food intake, and energy homeostasis. Tanycytes, a specialized glial cell type lining the wall of the third ventricle in the median eminence of the hypothalamus, appear to act as the linchpin of these processes by dynamically controlling the secretion of neuropeptides into the portal vasculature by hypothalamic neurons and regulating blood-brain and blood–cerebrospinal fluid exchanges, both processes that depend on the ability of these cells to adapt their morphology to the physiological state of the individual. In addition to their barrier properties, tanycytes possess the ability to sense blood glucose levels, and play a fundamental and active role in shuttling circulating metabolic signals to hypothalamic neurons that control food intake. Moreover, accumulating data suggest that, in keeping with their putative descent from radial glial cells, tanycytes are endowed with neural stem cell properties and may respond to dietary or reproductive cues by modulating hypothalamic neurogenesis. Tanycytes could thus constitute the missing link in the loop connecting behavior, hormonal changes, signal transduction, central neuronal activation and, finally, behavior again. In this article, we will examine these recent advances in the understanding of tanycytic plasticity and function in the hypothalamus and the underlying molecular mechanisms. We will also discuss the putative involvement and therapeutic potential of hypothalamic tanycytes in metabolic and fertility disorders.

中文翻译：

---

多功能单核细胞：生殖和能量代谢的下丘脑整合者

一个人的生育能力和生存依赖于外围与控制繁殖，食物摄入和能量稳态的大脑神经网络迅速，有效和可复制地通信的能力。Tanycytes是位于下丘脑正中隆起的第三脑室壁内壁的一种特殊的神经胶质细胞类型，似乎通过动态控制下丘脑神经元分泌神经肽分泌到门脉系统中并调节血脑来充当这些过程的关键。血液和脑脊液交换，这两个过程都取决于这些细胞使形态适应个体生理状态的能力。除屏障功能外，单核细胞还具有感知血糖水平的能力，并在传递循环代谢信号至控制食物摄入的下丘脑神经元中发挥基本和积极作用。此外，积累的数据表明，单核细胞具有推定的放射状神经胶质细胞的血统，具有神经干细胞特性，并可能通过调节下丘脑神经发生而对饮食或生殖信号产生反应。因此，单核细胞可能构成回路中连接行为，荷尔蒙变化，信号转导，中枢神经元激活以及最终行为的缺失环节。在本文中，我们将研究这些最新进展，以了解下丘脑中的单核细胞可塑性和功能以及潜在的分子机制。