Endocrine Abstracts

Obesity is linked to an increased risk of 13 different cancers in adulthood. The environment supporting this increased risk is multi-factorial but includes metabolic dysregulation, chronic inflammation and the loss of the anti-tumour activity of cells such natural killer (NK) cells. We present data which shows that this pro-cancer environment starts early in children with obesity, potentially increasing their risk of future disease. We investigated a cohort of 50 children with...

Background: Rapid-onset obesity with hypoventilation, hypothalamic dysfunction, autonomic dysregulation (ROHHAD) is a rare syndrome associated with high morbidity. An immune-inflammatory aetiology has been postulated; however, the immune characteristics and effect of immunomodulation have not been well described.Case report: We describe the immune profile and the effect of rituximab on the immunomodulation potentially ca...

Introduction: MAIT cells are a unique subset of T-cells, that have been conserved throughout 150 million years of mammalian evolution. They can contribute to rapid pathogen control, tissue repair and anti-cancer immunity, but can also cause inflammation and tissue damage in diseased settings. Previously, we have reported dysregulated peripheral blood MAIT cells in children and adults with obesity, highlighting altered cellular metabolism as the causative mechanism. However, th...

Abstract: Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally. At least 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese, the biggest burden being obesity-related diseases. Glucagon like peptide 1 (GLP-1) targeted therapies show the greatest potential for intervention and are approved as weight loss agents. However not all patients respond to GLP-1 therapy. Understanding the mechanisms of bodyweight regulation and their role in GLP-1 responders vs. non-r...

Background: Peptide-YY is synthesised and secreted by specialised cells in the ileum and colon. Levels increase following food intake, having a satiety effect. Baseline and postprandial levels of PYY were found to be lower in obese subjects compared to lean, negatively correlating with the subjects BMI, however obese subjects were sensitive to the anorectic effects of PYY when given exogenous PYY.Hypothesis: We have recently demonstrated that another pra...

Background: Childhood obesity now represents a major public health concern. Being obese in childhood appears to increase the risk of severe obesity in adulthood. Obesity is associated with co-morbid conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Underpinning obesity is a state of chronic sterile inflammation. Recently the invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell, an innate T cell was shown to act as a metabolic regulator and altered by obesity both in adults and ...

There is strong epidemiological data linking obesity to an increased risk of various cancers. It is associated with immune dysregulation and chronic low grade inflammation, however little is known about its impact on anti-tumour immunity. Whether childhood obesity is an independent risk factor for future malignancy is not fully established. We hypothesized that alterations in key immune anti-tumour mechanisms begin prior to adulthood in paediatric obesity.<p class="abstext...

Background: Although the association between obesity, chronic low-grade inflammation and immune dysregulation is well described in adults, there is a paucity of literature regarding this in children. We hypothesized that childhood obesity is associated with significant immune dysregulation.Methods: Expression of cytokines and microRNAs (miR) involved in the pathogenesis of metabolic disease were assessed in 49 participants aged 6–18 years. Invariant...