Endocrine Abstracts

The IGF/IGFBPs are important in follicle growth and selection, with IGFBP-4 being one of the major players in this system. We have shown potent, IGF-independent, inhibitory effects of IGFBP-4 on steroidogenesis, explaining its' preferential proteolysis in healthy follicles. Two isoforms of IGFBP-4 exist, non-glycosylated and glycosylated, at approximately 24 and 28kDa, with different susceptibility to proteolysis. We therefore investigated the production of IGFBP-4 isoforms by...

IGFs and IGFBPs have an important role in folliculogenesis, with the profile of IGFBPs being different in healthy and atretic follicles. In particular, IGFBP-4, which is a potent inhibitor of steroidogenesis, is preferentially proteolysed in healthy follicles. We therefore investigated the production and activation of IGFBP-4 protease in human follicular cells.Follicles of 3-25mm were dissected from 13 pairs of ovaries collected with ethics committee app...

Childhood obesity is increasing in prevalence and is associated with insulin resistance and Type II diabetes in later life. Site-specific differences in adipose tissue accumulation and associated insulin sensitivity may contribute to these problems.The aims of our study were: 1. To isolate and characterise, subcutaneous (SC) and visceral (V) preadipocytes using small biopsies from pre-pubertal children (ages:4-8years(n=3)) undergoing elective abdominal surgery, with normal...