Endocrine Abstracts

Babies born to mothers with diabetes during pregnancy are exposed to high circulating leptin before birth and, in turn, are at increased risk of developing diabetes in later life. In pancreatic islets isolated from fetal sheep, leptin influences β-cell proliferation in a bimodal manner. This study examined the effect of exogenous leptin infusion and leptin receptor antagonism on pancreatic β-cell mass in the sheep fetus in vivo.<...

Babies born to mothers with diabetes during pregnancy are exposed to high circulating leptin before birth and, in turn, are at increased risk of developing diabetes in later life. In pancreatic islets isolated from fetal sheep, leptin influences β-cell proliferation in a bimodal manner. This study examined the effect of exogenous leptin infusion and leptin receptor antagonism on pancreatic β-cell mass in the sheep fetus in vivo.<...

Thyroid hormones are important regulators of fetal growth, although their mechanism of action remains unclear. In the sheep fetus, thyroid hormone deficiency increases plasma insulin and leptin concentrations. This study investigated the effects of hypothyroidism on perirenal adipose tissue (PAT) development and adipose insulin signalling pathways in fetal sheep.All procedures were performed under the UK Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. In 10 tw...