Endocrine Abstracts

Morphological and therapeutic interventions have uncovered an inflammatory process in patients with type 2 diabetes. This inflammation is due to a pathological activation of the innate immune system by metabolic stress and is largely governed by IL-1 signaling. Initially, the inflammatory response is probably deployed to promote adaptation and regeneration. Indeed, we identified a role for IL-1β and insulin in the regulation of both metabolism and immunity in response to ...

Background/Introduction: Lifestyle adaptations are crucial in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. However, implementation is difficult and patients especially with high glucose levels receive most often medication as first-line treatment instead of intensive lifestyle changes. We hypothesized that a primary lifestyle intervention as first-line treatment for newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes compared to standard of care is didactic, safe and can achieve metabolic control alone....

Background: The goal of this project was to identify non-osmotic stimuli of arginine vasopressin (AVP) release during exercise. Non-osmotic AVP release can lead to severe hyponatremia in otherwise healthy marathon runners.Interleukin-1 (IL-1) increases during exercise and was shown to induce AVP in animal models. We here therefore investigated whether copeptin (a surrogate marker for AVP) increases upon exercise in young and healthy males, and whether this increase is regulate...

Background: Increased cortisol levels in obesity may contribute to the associated metabolic syndrome. In obesity, the activated innate immune system leads to increased interleukin (IL)-1β, which is known to stimulate the release of adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH). We therefore hypothesised that in obesity IL-1 antagonism would result in downregulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, leading to decreased cortisol levels.Methods: I...

Background: Low testosterone levels in men appear to be an independent cardiovascular risk factor closely associated with the metabolic syndrome. Reciprocally, the metabolic syndrome leads to a decrease in testosterone levels, suggesting a bidirectional relationship. It has been hypothesized that increased inflammation is causative for the development of obesity-associated hypogonadism. However, clinical evidence supporting this hypothesis is lacking. The aim of the present st...

Background: Fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF21), which has recently been identified as a central regulator of metabolism, is known to be increased in conditions of obesity, insulin resistance, and fatty liver. Likewise, there is evidence that FGF21 increases with systemic inflammation. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether chronic low-grade inflammation might be the underlying mechanism and whether an anti-inflammatory treatment decreases FGF21 levels in metabolic diso...

Background: Interleukin (IL)-1 antagonism decreases systolic blood pressure in obese individuals. However, the underlying mechanism is unknown. Based on experimental data in animals we hypothesised a blood-pressure lowering effect of IL-1-antagonism via modulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS).Methods: In this post-hoc explorative study, we examined short- (2 days) and long-term effects (4 weeks) of IL-1 antagonism (anakinra/Kineret<...

Background: Postprandial hypoglycemia is an increasingly recognized complication after bariatric surgery. Its hallmark is a pronounced glycemic rise after carbohydrate ingestion followed by an exaggerated hyperinsulinemic response. Recent studies have shown that IL-1β contributes to postprandial stimulation of insulin. Furthermore, inhibition of SGLT2 reduces excessive plasma glucose increase. Therefore, we investigated whether inhibition of IL-1β with the IL-1 recep...

Introduction: Glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) induces the cytokine interleukin (IL)-6 in adipocytes. IL-6 enhances insulin secretion from β-cells via L- and α-cell-derived GLP-1.Therefore we hypothesized that GIP regulates Glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 as well as glucose control via IL-6.Methods/Design: Basic research study on isolated human and mouse pancreatic islets and FACS-sorted human α-and β-cells that were treat...

BackgroundPolycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is the most prevalent endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. The main components are hyperandrogenemia and oligo-/amenorrhea. The pathophysiology of PCOS is not fully understood which is why no causal treatment options are available. A multitude of observational studies demonstrated elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in patients with PCOS compared with weight-matched controls. CRP is a sensitive ...