Endocrine Abstracts

The increased appetite associated with hyperthyroidism is assumed to be secondary to an increased metabolic rate. However, the role of thyroid hormones in appetite regulation is poorly understood. We hypothesised that thyroid hormones directly regulate food intake and studied the effects of peripheral and CNS administration of tri-iodothyronine (T3) on food intake in male Wistar rats in vivo.A single subcutaneous (s.c.) injection of 4.5 nmol per ...

The gastric hormone ghrelin increases appetite and energy intake when administered by intravenous infusion to human subjects and has recently been reported to increase energy intake in patients with anorexia of cancer. Ghrelin also stimulates growth hormone release. We have now investigated whether subcutaneous administration of ghrelin is effective. Approval of the local ethics committee was obtained. Following a preliminary dose-finding study, 16 lean healthy volunteers rece...

BDNF, a neurotrophin involved in brain development and plasticity, is implicated in the melanocortin regulation of obesity onset. Mice deficient in the orphan nuclear receptor SF-1 have a poorly developed VMH and consequent absence of BDNF in this region. Our studies reveal a role for SF-1 in BDNF expression, and its' implications for hypothalamic obesity. Real-time RT-PCR indicated expression of BDNF exons I, III and IV were dramatically reduced in the VMH of SF-1 heterozygou...

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine produced by peripheral immune cells and also by pituitary endocrine cells. MIF exerts its pro-inflammatory actions in the host defence system by blocking the inhibitory effects of glucocorticoids on the release of other pro-inflammatory cytokines. Reports that pituitary folliculo-stellate (FS) cells show characteristics of immune cells led us to propose that FS cells may serve as an additional source o...

The prenatally androgenised sheep, like the Rhesus monkey, is an informative model for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). We have recently demonstrated that AMH protein is reduced in preantral follicles of PCOS ovaries (Stubbs et al, Endocrine Abstracts 2004, 7 P186 ). We hypothesized that reduced expression of AMH is an effect of androgen excess. The aim of this study was to examine AMH immunostaining in ovaries from prenatally androgen-treated and control ewes. Ovaries were t...

BackgroundBlack and African patients with type 2 diabetes have a greater frequency and more severe complications of the disease, even after correction for associated factors. Asymptomatic sickle cell trait (SCT; hemoglobin AS) is also common among black Africans and may independently cause endothelial damage, manifested as isolated target organ complications or infarction. We examined the possibility that patients with concurrent type 2 diabetes and SCT ...

Prostaglandin F2a (PGF) receptor (FP) expression is up-regulated in neoplastic epithelial and perivascular cells in endometrial adenocarcinomas, indicating potential regulation of vascular function by PGF via the FP receptor. This study investigated the potential role of PGF-FP receptor signalling in modulating vascular function in endometrial adenocarcinomas.Endometrial biopsies were obtained in accordance with Ethics Committee guidance with ...

Nectin-2, a major protein component of the adherens junctions (AJs), is found between Sertoli cells and germ cells in the seminiferious epithelium. Recent studies have shown that the expression of nectin-2 gene in testis is crucial to maintain normal spermatogenesis since male knockout mice lacking nectin-2 gene are sterile and possess morphological abnormal spermatozoa. However, the molecular mechanisms governing its basal transcription remain poorly understood. By the use of...