Nesfatin-1 – More than a food intake regulatory peptide

•Nesfatin-1 was detected in 2006.•Since then it has received a lot of attention, mainly due to its anorexigenic properties.•Nesfatin-1 influences several other behaviors such as sleep and drinking.•Recently, an implication of nesfatin-1 in the modulation of anxiety was shown.•The mediation of stress/anxiety might be an important function of nesfatin-1.

Nesfatin-1 was discovered a decade ago and despite the fact that it represents just one of a multitude of food intake-inhibiting factors it received increasing attention. This led to a detailed characterization of NUCB2/nesfatin-1's physiological property to reduce food intake and also gave rise to an involvement in the long term regulation of body weight, especially under conditions of obesity. In addition, studies indicated the involvement of NUCB2/nesfatin-1 in other homeostatic functions as well: glucose homeostasis, water intake, gastrointestinal functions, temperature regulation, cardiovascular functions, puberty onset and sleep. These pleiotropic actions underline the physiological relevance of this peptide. Recently, the involvement of NUCB2/nesfatin-1 in psychiatric disorders such as anxiety has been investigated giving rise to the speculation that NUCB2/nesfatin-1 represents a peptidergic link between eating and anxiety/depression disorders.