Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Lipocalin 2 (NGAL) is considered a pro-inflammatory adipokine. Noting the conflicting reports as to the role of Lipocalin 2 in metabolic disease, it remains unclear whether an acute or chronic state affects its impact on adipocyte function. In an attempt to address this our current studies investigated for the first time in humans, whether Lipocalin 2 in abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (AT) may influence mitochondrial function and browning of adipocytes, as c...

Background: In an obese state, pro-inflammatory adipokines can lead to mitochondrial dysfunction and reduced brown adipocytes properties in white adipocytes (BRITE adipocytes), all of which contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A recent novel adipokine, asprosin, that influences appetite and glucose homeostasis, appears to drive inflammation in obesity. However, asprosin expression in human adipose tissue (AT) depots, its impact on mito...

Background: Asprosin is a novel adipokine involved in appetite and glucose regulation. During obesity, circulating asprosin is increased, which leads to increased inflammation and can disrupt cellular functions such as mitochondrial respiration. Asthma is a comorbidity of obesity, with both diseases sharing an inflammatory profile and mitochondrial dysfunction. This study investigated the molecular links between asthma and obesity, by exploring whether asprosin causes mitochon...

Background: Obesity exacerbates a number of chronic inflammatory diseases including asthma, with increasing adiposity observed to worsen asthma severity and disease control. This exacerbation may arise as gut-derived bacterial fragments (endotoxin) and associated markers of endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LPB)), enter the circulation through a damaged gut barrier, provoking systemic inflammation. This study investigated the role of body weight on gut permeabilit...