Endocrine Abstracts

IntroductionThe main population of GnRH-1 neurons that control activity of the HPG axis in primates originate in the peripheral olfactory system. Recently, in vitro primary cell cultures from human fetal olfactory epithelium, named FNC-B4, have been shown to express GnRH-1 and are likely to be the precursor of the adult-like GnRH-1 system distribution in the CNS. A number of external and cell-autonomous factors are known to control migration of these spe...

Little is known about the place of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) in preantral follicle development, although there is considerable evidence that IGFs are important in antral folliculogenesis. In the rat, isolated large preantral follicles developed better when cultured in vitro in the presence of IGF-I than without (Zhao et al 2001). In the same study, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction identified mRNA for IGF-I and the type I receptor in the granulosa/theca ...

Knockout studies have demonstrated that FSHbeta knockout (FSHbKO) and FSH receptor knockout (FSHRKO) female mice are infertile due to block of follicle development at the pre-antral stage. The ovaries are reduced in size and uteri are atrophic. However, a proportion of FSHRKO and FSHbKO mice develop ovarian and uterine hypertrophy in middle age (Abel et al, 2001). In order to investigate further brain-pituitary-gonadal interrelationships the aim of the present study was to com...

Metformin treatment of women with PCOS has been shown to improve ovarian function, reduce hyperandrogenicity and induce weight loss. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the nature of the weight loss in obese women with PCOS, using 2 dose regimes.Methods: Obese (body mass index [BMI] > 29 kilograms /m2) women with PCOS (n = 44) were recruited to the study, and randomised to receive either 1500mg metformin daily (n = 22), or ...

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a marker of inflammatory processes which predicts vascular disease, and is raised in the circulation of women with PCOS. Metformin can be used to reduce insulin resistance in women with PCOS, leading to improved ovarian function and circulating lipid profiles. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of protracted metformin treatment on circulating CRP in women with PCOS.Methods: CRP was assessed in women with PCOS (n...

It is supposed a simillar dirnal change of TSH, free fatty acids (FFA) and leptin in humans. Hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis (HPT) is suppressed during food deprivation while there is an elevation of FFA further influencing glucose metabolism. The aim of our study was to investigate whether leptin can act as a metabolic signal linking the adipose tissue metabolism and the HPT. We studied 13 women with polycystic ovary disease-PCOS (mean age: 26.6±1.83 years; BMI: 34...

This study examined the action of GH on secretory activity and apoptosis (A) in porcine ovarian granulosa cells, as well as the role of protein kinase A (PKA), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), tyrosine kinase (TK), protein kinase G (PKG) and cyclin-dependent cdc2/p34 kinase in the mediation of its actions. The effects of exogenous pGH, with or without blockers of PKA (KT5720, Rp-cAMPS), MAPK (PD98059), TK (genistein, lavendustin), PKG (Rp-Br-PET-cGMPS, KT5823) and cdc2...