Endocrine Abstracts

The key to a great poster is preparation – as soon as you receive notification of your poster presentation, read the ‘instructions for authors’. Key points to note are:The size of the poster boardsAttendance timesIs there a presentation in front of your poster?Turn-around time of the poster printer.The shape/size of the poster will be dictated by th...

Uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2) has many postulated functions, including possible solute exchange and immunity within the neonatal lung. The effect of maternal nutrition during late gestation on UCP2 abundance in the ovine neonatal lung has not been determined.Twin-bearing ewes of similar age and body weight were individually housed from 110 days gestation. Six controls (C) were fed and consumed 100% of their energy requirements for maintenance and growth of...

Fetal stress, including inadequate nutrient supply and cessation of fetal growth, are major stimuli to the onset of parturition which acts to promote maturation of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. These adaptations, together with rapid removal of lung liquid fluid and onset of endogenous heat production at birth, ensure oxygen supply is adequate and hypothermia prevented. A critical component of fetal organ maturation in preparation for life after birth is mitochondrial develo...

Chronic heart failure (HF) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in humans and domestic animals. HF is characterised by chronic inflammation and functional changes in non-cardiovascular tissues; obesity is also associated with low level chronic inflammation, with adipose tissue (AT) exhibiting infiltration of macrophages and alterations in fatty acid (FA) profiles. The aim of this project was to investigate expression of regulators of lipid metabolism and inflammation an...

Changes in maternal dietary intake during gestation can affect muscle development1 and may be linked to the catabolic actions of hormones, such as glucocorticoids, which inhibits the insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF1) pathway. This study examines the potential effects of glucocorticoids and skeletal muscle adaptations in seven-day-old offspring exposed to suboptimal gestational environments.Pregnant sows were randomly assigned to a commercial...

Background: Altering maternal nutrition affects fetal development, potentially predisposing them to later metabolic disease. Tissue sensitivity to cortisol is regulated, in part, by GR and 11βhsd1 and 2, and GR and 11βhsd1 expression is known to be raised both with obesity and type 2 diabetes.Objectives: To examine whether gestational diet influences GR and11βhsd1 and 2 mRNA expression in the neonatal liver.Methods: ...

Epidemiological studies have shown that infants of low birth weight show poor neonatal growth and increased susceptibility to adult diseases such as diabetes in later life. Pigs provide an ideal model to examine the influence of size at birth due to the natural variance in piglet weight within a litter. This study examined whether birth weight influences the expression of UCP3 and it's regulation by thyroid hormones in neonatal pigs.Piglets from 11 litte...

It is well established that neonatal mortality is greater in the leaner commercial (C) porcine genotypes compared to the ancient Meishan (M) breed, which has a higher percentage of body fat. Piglets do not express UCP1, responsible for heat production in neonatal mammals, although they do express UCP2. The aim of this study was to investigate the endocrine and metabolic control of UCP2 expression between the C and M genotypes.Piglets from 15 C and 15 M l...

Background: Birth weight has important consequences for later health, including the development of the metabolic syndrome. Tissue sensitivity to cortisol is regulated, in part, by the GR and alterations in its expression occur in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Low birth weight is associated with increased fat mass and down-regulation of PPARα, in skeletal muscle of neonatal pigs.Objectives: To examine whether birth weight influences GR or PPARα m...

Background: Size at birth has been shown to have important consequences on later health, including the development of the metabolic syndrome. Tissue sensitivity to cortisol is regulated, in part, by the GCR and alterations in GCR expression have been observed in obesity and type 2 diabetes.Objectives: To examine whether birth weight influences the expression of GCR mRNA in skeletal muscle (SM) at days 7 and 14 of postnatal life.Met...