Endocrine Abstracts

It is well known that cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1) antagonist drugs may reduce body weight and improve metabolic profiles in obese animals and humans by a double mechanism: at first, targeting mesolimbic and hypothalamic nuclei and, thereafter, peripheral organs involved in energy storage and expenditure. However, it is still unknown which of these sites of action may have a predominant role in the endocannabinoid effect on energy balance regulation. To solve this questio...

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is recognized as common liver disorder that represents the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome including visceral obesity, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance and hyperlipidemia. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the progressive form of liver injury with the risk for progressive fibrosis, cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease. The pathophysiology that leads to NAFLD and NASH is not well understood. We hypo...

Histamine is an important anorexic factor that suppresses food intake via hypothalamic H1 receptors and increases energy expenditure by stimulating lipolysis. Mice with targeted deletion of the key enzyme of histamine biosynthesis, histidine decarboxylase (HDC-KO), are unable to synthesize histamine. These animals display a metabolic phenotype with adult onset obesity, selective increase in visceral fat depots, impaired glucose tolerance and hyperleptinemia. To test the possib...

Objectives: The melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) belonging to the large superfamily of G-protein coupled receptors plays a crucial role in hypothalamic weight regulation. In approximately 3–5% of investigated obese patients inactivating MC4R mutations are the underlying molecular cause for early onset obesity. Functional characterisation revealed for specific partial loss of function MC4R mutations that restoration of receptor function is possible by usage of highly potent ...

Evidence has accumulated about the involvement of the CRF system in the regulation of energy balance. The effects of CRF are mediated by two receptors: CRFR1 and CRFR2. The role of the CRFR1 in the regulation of energy balance is not well defined. To address this issue, adult male CRFR1 KO mice and WT littermates were given low fat (LFD) or high-fat (HFD) diets for 4 months. Under LFD no differences between genotypes were seen on body weight (BW) and caloric intake. KO mice ha...

3-Iodothyronamine (T1AM) is a novel endogenous derivative of thyroid hormone (TH), recently described by Scanlan et al. (Nat. Med. 10: 638, 2004). In vitro, T1AM can stimulate the production of cAMP via activation of a heterologously expressed G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) now referred to as trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1; Lindemann et al. Genomics 85: 372, 2005). In adult, unanesthetized C57Bl6/J mice, T1AM produces prof...

Objective: To reveal whether there are differences in serum level of retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) in obese individuals with insulin resistance (IR) and without diabetes in comparison to those with 2 type diabetes mellitus (2 DM) treated by metformin and not obese controls.Methodology: The serum level of retinol binding protein 4 was examined by RIA method in 28 obese individuals with insulin resistance, 11 patients with 2 type diabetes mellitus treat...