Endocrine Abstracts

Kisspeptin produced by placenta is involved in the regulation of early placental development. Aberrant placental development and placental dysfunction are common in pregnancies with diabetes and hypertension. Parameters of fetal growth, feto-placental circulation, pregnancy outcome, placental weight and morphology were recorded and correlated with kisspeptin levels in pregnant women with diabetes (chronic insulin dependent-IDDM and gestational-GD) and hypertension (chronic-H, ...

Neuropeptide S (NPS) is a recently discovered peptide shown to be involved in the modulation of arousal and fear responses. It has also been shown that lateral ventricle administration of NPS causes a significant decrease in food intake. Neuropeptides involved in the modulation of arousal have been shown to be involved in the regulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and food intake.Objective: To examine the effect of NPS on the regulati...

Kisspeptin is the peptide product of the KiSS-1 gene and endogenous agonist for the GPR54 receptor. The kisspeptin/GPR54 system has recently been suggested as a key regulator of the reproductive system. GPR54 deficient mice have abnormal sexual development and low circulating gonadotrophins and in humans, GPR54 mutations have been shown to cause hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism. Thus, GPR54 appears to be essential for normal gonadotrophin secretion and the regulation of puberty....

In addition to obesity, models of abnormal hypothalamic melanocortin signalling display increased linear growth, although the mechanism remains unclear. We have studied the somatotrophic axis in the obese agouti (Ay/a) mouse (male, 12-14 weeks), as a model of an altered melanocortin system. Somatotrophic hormones were measured by radioimmunoassay and hypothalamic neuropeptide expression studied by in situhybridisation.Obese A<...

Kisspeptin-54 is a neuropeptide encoded by the Kiss-1 gene with an important role in the regulation of reproduction and puberty. Acute peripheral or intra-hypothalamic administration of kisspeptin-54 potently stimulates the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis via hypothalamic gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons. However, the effects of chronic continuous kisspeptin administration are poorly characterised. Our studies investigated the effects of chronic, continu...

The kisspeptins are KiSS-1 gene-derived peptides which signal through the G protein coupled receptor 54 (GPR54), and have recently been shown to be critical regulators of reproduction. Acute intracerebroventricular (ICV) or peripheral administration of kisspeptin to rodents and primates, and peripheral administration to humans, stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary gonadal (HPG) axis. This effect is thought to be mediated via the hypothalamic gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (G...

Background: Diabetic gastroparesis is a disabling condition with no consistently effective treatment. Ghrelin infusion, in animal studies, increases gastric emptying and reverses post-operative ileus. We present the results of the first double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over study of ghrelin in gastric emptying in patients with diabetic gastroparesis....

BackgroundDiabetic gastroparesis is a disabling condition with no consistently effective treatment. Ghrelin infusion, in animal studies, increases gastric emptying and reverses post-operative ileus. We present the results of the first double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over study of ghrelin in gastric emptying in patients with diabetic gastroparesis.MethodsTen insulin requiring diabetic patients (5 men, 6 ...

The gut hormone ghrelin is involved in feeding behaviour. It increases appetite and food intake when administered by intravenous infusion to subjects of normal weight. Ghrelin levels are often lower in obese than lean individuals and whether responsiveness to ghrelin differs in lean and obese people is not known. We investigated whether obese human subjects are sensitive to the effects of ghrelin. Approval of the local ethics committee was obtained. We examined the effects of ...

Kisspeptin, encoded by the KiSS-1 gene activates the G protein coupled receptor 54 (GPR54). The kisspeptin/GPR54 system plays an essential role regulating reproductive development. The human placenta has a high expression of both the KiSS-1 and GPR54 genes. Plasma kisspeptin levels increase several thousand fold in pregnancy. The physiological role of kisspeptin in pregnancy is not clear. Kisspeptin causes vasoconstriction during in vitro studies and may play a r...