Endocrine Abstracts

The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is a nuclear receptor, a major drug target, and the end point of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Glucocorticoids (GC) are essential for life, but in excess cause disordered energy metabolism, including increased weight gain, adiposity and hepatosteatosis; all programmes modulated by the circadian clock. Secretion of GC is regulated by the circadian clock, but could their actions be also? Here, using mouse as a model, we found that whil...

Context: Glucocorticoids (GC) mediate some of the adverse health-related consequences of circadian misalignment, such occurs in shift workers who have an increased cardio-metabolic, immune and cancer risk. Investigating the effect of circadian cortisol exposure in patients with GC excess and defect is crucial. In a therapeutic perspective large attention has been given to the total daily GC exposure, much less to the timing-of-the-day relative exposure. Clock genes are essenti...

Appropriate timing of various seasonal processes, such as reproduction, migration and hibernation, is crucial to the survival of animals living in temperate regions. Although this phenomenon has been studied for decades, the underlying mechanisms of seasonal changes in behavior are not well understood. Medaka fish (Oryzias latipes) are an excellent model for studying seasonal adaptation, as they are active and exhibit clear phototaxis in conditions simulating summer, ...