Endocrine Abstracts

The exposure of cells to high glucose concentrations is considered a determinant of diabetic neuropathy. Conversely, members of the Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF) system are well known neurotrophic factors. Here, we investigated the effects of constant and intermittent high glucose concentrations on IGF-I and IGF Binding Proteins (IGFBPs) in human neuroblast long-term cell cultures (FNC). We first demonstrated that FNC express the IGF-I receptor, and express and release in t...

The molecular mechanisms underlying the reawakening of hypothalamic GnRH neurons at puberty remain to be elucidated. Recently, the G protein-coupled receptor 54 (GPR54) and its endogenous ligand kisspeptin, encoded by the KISS1 gene, have been involved. In fact, GPR54 mutations cause idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in human and mice. We used the previously characterized primary culture of human fetal olfactory GnRH-secreting neurons, FNC-B4, to study in vitro t...