Endocrine Abstracts

Cardiovascular diseases account for more deaths in the Western world than from any other cause. Atherosclerosis has a chronic inflammatory component involving Th1 pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IFN-γ, which is known to induce endothelial cell inflammatory responses. CNP, acting via its receptors to elevate intracellular cGMP, is produced by endothelium and endocardium and is upregulated in atherosclerosis. It is believed to be protective yet its role in vascular infla...

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE), a syndrome of neurological abnormalities caused by impaired liver function, is induced by many chronic liver diseases, such as liver failure or hepatic portosystemic shunts. Whilst multiple substances reach toxic levels in the systemic circulation of HE patients, hyperammonemia (excessive ammonia) is known to be a major contributing factor to the neurological disturbances. Astrocytes utilise ammonia in generating glutamine leading to brain oedema a...

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), the predominant natriuretic peptide in the pituitary, is associated with neuroendocrine development and function. Our previous studies show that genes encoding CNP (nppc2, cnp3, nppc4, and nppcl) are expressed during pituitary development in humans and zebrafish (Danio rerio), however a precise role for CNP in the pituitary has yet to be elucidated. Using the versatile zebrafish, we explored in ...

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) is the ancestral and most highly conserved member of the mammalian natriuretic peptide family. Although broadly expressed throughout the periphery (bone, gonads, kidneys), CNP is the major natriuretic peptide of the brain and CNS and is suspected to influence neuroendocrine function. Our recent studies using fetal human pituitary samples has shown that the gene encoding CNP, NPPC, is expressed early on in pituitary development but a co...

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) has recently been implicated as a key meiotic arrest factor in oocytes, and mechanistic studies suggest that the transcriptional regulation of the CNP gene (Nppc) and of its receptor, GC-B (Npr2) is sensitive to gonadotrophin-dependent cAMP accumulation. We have shown CNP to be a major regulator of gonadotrophs in the pituitary, but have yet to establish how either Nppc or Npr2 are transcriptionally controlled locally. In the current study, the...

Background: Microalbuminuria is an early marker of diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) which predicts the development of later stages of nephropathy. Thiazolidinediones are a class of oral hypoglycaemic drugs used in diabetes glycaemic management that act through PPARγ receptors. Studies have suggested they significantly reduce urinary albumin excretion; however, most trials were small. We therefore performed a systematic review to clarify the effectiv...

Several hormones, including cortisol, have a circadian rhythm in plasma and saliva. Salivary cortisol is now extensively used for screening and following patients with various conditions where the regulation of hypothalamo-pituitary–adrenal axis is abnormal, for example in major depression where salivary cortisol levels show a disruption or loss of the circadian rhythm.Annexin 1 is a glucocorticoid-induced protein, which is responsible for mediating...

Equine Chorionic Gonadotrophin (eCG) is a heterodimeric glycoprotein produced by terminally differentiated, bi/multi-nucleate trophoblast cells in the placenta of horses and humans. It is responsible for the maintenance of early pregnancy via rescue of the corpus luteum and subsequently promotion of progesterone production. The beta subunit of eCG is expressed at levels ten-fold lower than that of the alpha subunit and confers the glycoproteins specificity to the placenta. Ver...

The cardiovascular properties of the natriuretic peptide family of hormones are well-characterised, and provide valuable prognostic indicators in the treatment of heart failure in humans and companion animals. Of the three main mammalian natriuretic peptides, C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) remains the most enigmatic, even though CNP represents the ancestral natriuretic peptide from which Atrial- (ANP) and B-type (BNP) natriuretic peptides evolved through gene duplication. We...

The mammalian natriuretic peptide family consists of three members, Atrial-, B-type, and C-type natriuretic peptides (ANP, BNP, and CNP respectively), and exert their effects on blood pressure, sodium homeostasis, growth and reproduction, via their selective guanylyl cyclase receptors, GC-A or GC-B. Previous attempts to map spatial expression profiling have generated conflicting results, due predominantly to the range of techniques employed, and the relative paucity of tools t...