Endocrine Abstracts

Loss of muscle mass is associated with ageing and several degenerative pathological conditions which limit movement and critically impair quality of life. One key regulator of muscle mass is myostatin which inhibits muscle growth. In circulation, myostatin is bound to follistatin-like 3 (FSTL3) in an inactive complex. FSTL3 is a natural, soluble regulator of myostatin along with follistatin (FST) and myostatin propeptide. In the FSTL3 gene deleted mouse (FSTL3 KO), however, to...

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), the predominant natriuretic peptide in the pituitary, is associated with neuroendocrine development and function. Our previous studies show that genes encoding CNP (nppc2, cnp3, nppc4, and nppcl) are expressed during pituitary development in humans and zebrafish (Danio rerio), however a precise role for CNP in the pituitary has yet to be elucidated. Using the versatile zebrafish, we explored in ...

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) is the ancestral and most highly conserved member of the mammalian natriuretic peptide family. Although broadly expressed throughout the periphery (bone, gonads, kidneys), CNP is the major natriuretic peptide of the brain and CNS and is suspected to influence neuroendocrine function. Our recent studies using fetal human pituitary samples has shown that the gene encoding CNP, NPPC, is expressed early on in pituitary development but a co...

The cardiovascular properties of the natriuretic peptide family of hormones are well-characterised, and provide valuable prognostic indicators in the treatment of heart failure in humans and companion animals. Of the three main mammalian natriuretic peptides, C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) remains the most enigmatic, even though CNP represents the ancestral natriuretic peptide from which Atrial- (ANP) and B-type (BNP) natriuretic peptides evolved through gene duplication. We...

The mammalian natriuretic peptide family consists of three members, Atrial-, B-type, and C-type natriuretic peptides (ANP, BNP, and CNP respectively), and exert their effects on blood pressure, sodium homeostasis, growth and reproduction, via their selective guanylyl cyclase receptors, GC-A or GC-B. Previous attempts to map spatial expression profiling have generated conflicting results, due predominantly to the range of techniques employed, and the relative paucity of tools t...

Gonadotrophs in rats, mice and humans, express an intact natriuretic peptide system, in which C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) is the predominant member. Despite showing an interaction between CNP and GnRH at the level of cGMP and Ca2+ signalling, the role of CNP in gonadotroph biology is poorly understood. In this study, we utilise a novel multiplex qRT-PCR assay, examining simultaneous expression of natriuretic peptide genes along with genes for gonadotroph transc...

Atrazine (ATR) is a widely used herbicide, with known effects as an endocrine disrupting chemical. Several studies have implicated ATR in causing disorders of sex development in reptiles, and chronic exposure can cause an increase incidence of intersex in fish, suggesting that the hypothalamo-pituitary–gonadal axis is a major site of ATR action. In this study, we investigated whether acute exposure (hours to days) to ATR could cause abnormalities in the development of Zeb...