Endocrine Abstracts

The activity of certain hypothalamic neuronal populations is altered by changes in glucose. in-vitro studies have identified several glucose-sensitive neuronal populations in hypothalamic regions controlling energy homeostasis. Subsets of orexigenic arcuate nucleus Neuropeptide Y (NPY)-releasing neurones are known to be glucose responsive. These neurones may allow glucose to influence appetite. Cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript (CART) is a neurotransmitter ab...

Maternal diet can influence her offspring’s susceptibility to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Dietary excess, particularly of fructose and salt, is characteristic of current ‘Western’ diets consumed by pregnant women. We therefore aimed to determine the effects of high maternal fructose and salt intake on maternal metabolism and fetal development in rats. Thirty-two virgin Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 dietary groups; 1) control diet (CD, n</...

Substance P (SP), neurokinin A and neurokinin B (NKB) are vasoactive tachykinins, believed to exert their effects by release from nerve endings to activate three neurokinin receptors. We have found the major source of NKB (TAC3) expression to be the placenta which results in elevated maternal blood levels in pre-eclampsia. Placental NKB appears to increase blood flow in the placenta and uterus but causes pressor effects in the peripheral circulation. Whilst the placenta, is de...

The hypothalamic peptide, cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript (CART) was originally reported to act as an anorexigenic peptide. However, we have recently shown that CART injection into the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC), acutely stimulates food intake. Here, we characterise the role of arcuate nucleus CART in the long term regulation of food intake and brown adipose tissue (BAT) using i) repeated intra-arcuate injection of CART peptide [CART(55-102)] and ii) polye...

As the nation gets fatter, the incidence of diabetes is also rising. The brain is now emerging as a critical mediator of blood sugar control, re-directing focus away from the traditional pancreas-centred model. The enzyme glucokinase (GK) acts as a glucose sensor in many tissues including glucose-sensitive neurones within the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus. However, the role of GK here is unclear. We investigated the role of arcuate GK in glucose homeostasis in both healthy and ...