Endocrine Abstracts

Background and aims: Obesity is a chronic multifactorial disease characterized by an excessive accumulation of body fat resulting from an imbalance between energy intake and caloric expenditure. Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) is located in the inner mitochondrial membrane and plays an important role in the regulation of energy expenditure. NLR family, pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome seems to have a key role in obesity-induced inflammation through production of the ...

Background and aim: Although chronic low-grade inflammation is observed in obese subjects, the underlying mechanisms modulating this process are still unclear. The Comparative Gene Identification-58 (CGI-58) is a lipid droplet-associated protein that has an important role in mediating intracellular fat hydrolysis by acting as a coactivator of the adipose Triglyceride Lipase (ATGL). Recent evidence suggests that CGI-58 also has a role in chronic inflammation and insulin resista...

Introduction: Long-term insulin independence after pancreatic islet transplantation depends on the engraftment of a large number of viable islets. However, the yield and quality of islets isolated from brain-death (BD) donors are negatively affected by upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines and by hypoxia and oxidative stress that occurs during the BD status. Uncoupling proteins (UCPs) are mitochondrial transporters present in the inner mitochondrial membrane and are associ...

Background and aims: In adipose tissue, excess of energy is stored inside cytosolic lipid droplets as triglycerides. During fasting or exercise, the stored fat is mobilized for utilization as free fatty acids and glycerol via lipolysis. The complete lipolysis of triglycerides is mediated by the orchestrated activation of adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and hormone-sensitive lipase, which have been associated with obesity. There is compelling evidence that the protein compar...