Endocrine Abstracts

Hydroxysteroid 17-beta dehydrogenase 1 (HSD17B1) is an enzyme catalyzing the reduction of estrone (E1) to estradiol (E2), as well as androstenedione (Adione) to testosterone (T). To elucidate the physiological function of HSD17B1, we generated knockout mice with disrupted Hsd17b1 gene using targeted ES cells (clone 10231) obtained from KOMP repository (www.komp.org). In these ES cells the whole coding region of Hsd17b1 was replaced with LacZ/Neo cass...

Kiss1 neurons are essential elements in the central pathways controlling the reproductive axis. In rodents, two major hypothalamic populations of Kiss1 neurons exist, in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) and in the rostral periventricular area of the third ventricle (RP3V). The majority of ARC Kiss1 neurons express two others neuropeptides, neurokinin B (NKB; encoded by Tac2) and dynorphin (Dyn); hence, this population has been named KNDy. Yet, NKB-only and Kiss1-only neurons are also...

The thyroid gland produces thyroid hormones, which are essential regulators of growth, development and metabolism of the body and is mainly regulated by the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)/TSH receptor (TSHR) interplay. The TSHR couples to all four G protein families in vitro but only for the Gs and Gq signaling cascade a role has been identified in vivo. To gain further insights into the complex signaling networks mediated by G proteins in the thyroid, we generated...

: Hydroxysteroid (17beta) dehydrogenases (HSD17Bs) form a group of enzymes that are characterized by their sequence similarity at the active site, and their ability to catalyze the conversion between the weak 17keto- and the highly active 17beta-hydroxysteroids. To study the physiological role of HSD17B13, a lipid droplet associated protein, we characterized the phenotype of knockout (KO) mice deficient in HSD17B13 (HSD17B13KO). The data revealed normal serum sex steroid conce...