Endocrine Abstracts

The neuroendocrine and immune systems are closely linked, and cytokines such as IL-1, IL-6 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), secreted by immune cells or neighbouring pituicytes, may have important local effects on pituitary function to modulate endocrine mechanisms of regulation.We have analysed the transcriptional regulation of the human prolactin (hPRL) gene promoter by TNF-alpha. Using stably transfected GH3 cells expressing luciferase und...

Background: Obesity exacerbates a number of chronic inflammatory diseases including asthma, with increasing adiposity observed to worsen asthma severity and disease control. This exacerbation may arise as gut-derived bacterial fragments (endotoxin) and associated markers of endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LPB)), enter the circulation through a damaged gut barrier, provoking systemic inflammation. This study investigated the role of body weight on gut permeabilit...