Endocrine Abstracts

The key metabolic hormone, leptin, acts in part through the liver to regulate glucose homeostasis, as well as the maturation of both adipocytes and osteoblasts. These actions have been demonstrated to be mediated by insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP-2), independent of its ability to bind IGF1. The effects of IGFBP-2 on adipocyte and osteoblast maturation can be localized to a short peptide sequence within the unique heparin binding domain (HBD-1) of IGFBP-2. ...

Obesity is known to be associated with increased heat production. To maintain normothermia, heat retention in areas of the body with greater adiposity is counteracted by an augmented heat release from the extremities, as the fingernail-beds of hands. A possible cause of the altered thermoregulation in obesity is a dysfunction of the neuro-endocrine system. Repetitive deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (dTMS) was proved to be an effective tool in inducing long lasting chang...

Bile acids (BA) are cholesterol-derived molecules that are mostly known for their involvement in lipid digestion and absorption. Recent evidence recognizes them as metabolic integrators able to reduce body weight (BW), increase energy expenditure (EE) and improve glycemic control by activating their specific receptor, the Takeda G protein-coupled receptor 5 (TGR5) in peripheral organs. These outcomes have increased importance in the context of diet-induced obesity and associat...

Introduction: Sirolimus, a mTOR (mechanistic Target of Rapamycin) inhibitor, is well known for its impact on glucides and lipids metabolism. These effects vary according to factors such as dose and treatment duration, species, cell types and environmental factors. In vitro and in vivo, sirolimus inhibits adipogenesis by decreasing adipocytes number and size, as well as pre-adipocytes differentiation, leading to subcutaneous and visceral fat mass decrease in m...

Weight regain after weight loss is a well described-phenomena in both humans and animal models of obesity and thought to be related to reduced energy expenditure and increased food intake. Reduced lipolysis in white adipose tissue has been described in obesity. We hypothesized that lipolytic defect in adipose tissue in the obese state persists after weight loss increasing efficiency of lipid storing and promotes weight regain. We utilized a mouse model of obesity memory (OM): ...