Endocrine Abstracts

Bariatric surgery is known to improve obesity-induced systemic inflammation and glucose homeostasis, however, the exact mechanisms behind this effect are not fully understood. We have previously shown that Sodium Glucose Transporter 2 (SGLT2) is significantly inhibited in the kidney cortex following Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG), causing a reduction in renal glucose reabsorption. In this study, we hypothesize that the observed post-operative reduction of SGLT2 is controlle...

Currently, most Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) treatments are targeted for the mitigation of the disease rather than remission. It has been previously demonstrated that T2D remission post-bariatric surgery in mice is independent of weight loss, indicating a metabolic mechanism. One avenue that remains largely unexplored is the role of cortisol, a hormone secreted from the adrenal cortex, dysregulation of which is linked to insulin resistance and obesity. The enzyme 11β-Hydroxyster...

Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are a new class of oral anti-diabetic medications that improve glycaemia by reducing the amount of glucose being absorbed in the kidneys. SGLT2 inhibitors have been proven to improve blood pressure, cardiovascular health and kidney disease. Despite their beneficial clinical effects, their exact mechanism of action is not fully explored. The aim of this project was to investigate the effect of SGLT2 ...

Background: Both metabolic surgery and sodium glucose co-transporter (SGLT2) inhibitors have been demonstrated to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose clearance, but also increase glucagon secretion and cardiovascular health.Aim: To examine the effect of metabolic surgery (Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy; VSG) on SGLT2 expression in kidney cortex of lean mice.Methods: In order to assess whether exogenous SGLT2 inhibition has the sam...

Background: Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal cortex and is essential for the maintenance of metabolic homeostasis. Cortisol activation is catalysed by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (11β-HSD1) and excess cortisol is associated with insulin resistance and hyperglycaemia. Previous studies from our group have shown that Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, a gastrointestinal procedure known to improve insulin sensitivity, causes cortisol inhibi...

Defending body weight is a fundamental homeostatic process. Indeed, countless studies have demonstrated weight-maintaining hyperphagia in response to either increased energy expenditure or a reduction in the caloric density of available food. The principal effector of this adaptive food intake is thought to be the adipose tissue-derived hormone, leptin. According to the classical ’adipostat’ model, the hypoleptinemia resulting from weight loss drives food intake to r...

High protein diets suppress appetite, but are difficult to adhere to. Understanding how the gut senses protein may identify mechanisms to drive satiety. Amino acid products of protein digestion are thought to be sensed by G protein coupled receptors in the gut, including the calcium sensing receptor (CaSR). Calcium ions are the major ligand of the CaSR, but aromatic amino acids, particularly L-phenylalanine (L-Phe), allosterically modulate CaSR activity....