Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Orlistat is a lipase inhibitor used in the treatment of obesity. Recent published work has shown that orlistat may have a role in affecting the release of appetite regulating gastrointestinal derived peptides. However, the precise effect of orlistat on these hormones remains uncertain. This study aimed to evaluate the short-term effects of orlistat with a high fat meal on levels of plasma Peptide YY (PYY) and on appetite.Methods: Ethical perm...

Relaxin-3 is a newly discovered member of the insulin superfamily. It is expressed in the nucleus incertus (NI) of the brainstem which has projections to the hypothalamus. Relaxin-3 binds with high affinity to the G-protein-coupled receptors RXFP1 and RXFP3. RXFP3 is expressed predominantly in the CNS, and in particular within the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN). The physiological function of relaxin-3 is unknown but recent work suggests it may play a role in appeti...

Background: Kisspeptin is an RF amide peptide hormone critical for reproductive function. Kisspeptin is also abundantly expressed in the placenta, where it has an important physiological role in regulating placental invasion. Accordingly, plasma kisspeptin levels rise dramatically during normal pregnancy. Lower plasma levels of kisspeptin are associated with poor pregnancy outcomes such as recurrent miscarriage, intrauterine growth restriction and pre-eclampsia. Urinary measur...

A decade ago, genetic disruption of the kisspeptin signalling pathway was observed to cause hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism. Hypothalamic kisspeptin acts by stimulating secretion of endogenous GnRH. Our research has investigated the physiological effects of kisspeptin in women, with the overarching aim of determining if kisspeptin could be used to treat women with infertility.We initially observed that s.c. bolus injection of kisspeptin acutely stimulated...

Background: Kisspeptin is an RF amide peptide hormone critical for reproductive function. Kisspeptin is also abundantly expressed in the placenta, where it has an important physiological role in regulating placental invasion. Accordingly, plasma kisspeptin levels rise dramatically during normal pregnancy. Lower plasma levels of kisspeptin are associated with poor pregnancy outcomes such as recurrent miscarriage, intrauterine growth restriction and pre-eclampsia. Urinary measur...

Alarin is the most recently discovered member of the galanin peptide family, and is encoded by a splice variant of galanin-like peptide (GALP) mRNA. Galanin and GALP are known to regulate energy homeostasis and reproduction. Galanin is thought to mediate its effects via the three-galanin receptors. GALP also binds to these known galanin receptors, but evidence suggests that it may also act via an as yet unknown GALP specific receptor. The role of alarin in energy homeostasis a...

Background: Kisspeptin is a peptide product of the KiSS-1 gene and a key regulator of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis. Pregnancy is associated with raised plasma kisspeptin concentrations. However, there is significant variation in the plasma kisspeptin levels quoted in previous studies. We investigated the effects of pre-analytical factors including processing time and anticoagulant type on plasma kisspeptin-immunoreactivity (IR) measurement.Meth...

3-iodothyronamine (T1AM) is a novel, endogenous rapid acting biogenic amine, which is a potent agonist of the G-protein coupled trace amine-associated receptor 1, TAAR1. It has been suggested that endogenous T1AM could be generated by enzymatic deiodonation and decarboxylation of T4. The presence of T1AM in rat brain and the distribution of the TAAR1 receptor in the hypothalamus suggest that T1AM may affect food intake and regulate e...

We have previously shown impaired neuroendocrine responses to ghrelin in patients with AN. The aim of this study was to investigate the metabolic responses during infusions of active ghrelin in severly malnourished patients with AN and compare them with responses of amenorrhoic AN patients who recovered body weight (PRAN) and constitutionally thin subjects (CTS) with regular menstrual cycles and without history of eating disorder and recent weight loss. Study was approved by t...

Background: Women with hypothalamic amenorrhoea (HA) have reduced LH pulsatility causing amenorrhea and infertility. Estrogen supplementation provides symptomatic relief for women with HA, but does not restore the pulsatile pattern of LH secretion which necessary for fertility. Kisspeptin-54 is a recently identified hormone, which potently stimulates GNRH secretion within the hypothalamus. The effect of exogenous kisspeptin-54 administration on LH pulsatility in women with HA ...