Endocrine Abstracts

Obesity pandemic has a tremendous impact on economic and healthcare systems. Our group investigates molecular mechanisms involved in obesity and its associated diseases such as type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. We are particularly interested in studying the actions and mechanisms by which the central nervous system, and more precisely the hypothalamus, controls energy homeostasis. We have provided evidence that different gastrointestinal hormones such as G...

Objectives: To describe the results of the bilateral inferior petrosal sinus sampling (BIPSS) performed in our hospital for differential diagnosis between Cushing disease (CD) and ectopic ACTH secretion (EAS), and evaluate if CRH stimulation during this test improves its diagnostic accuracy.Material and Methods: We retrospectively review 29 BIPSS performed in 26 patients (4 men, 22 women), with mean age of 44.7 year-old (range 28–69), diagnosed wit...

Endocrine-metabolic alterations such as obesity and metabolic syndrome are closely linked to the development of chronic liver diseases, from metabolic-associated fatty liver (MAFLD) to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). An emerging hallmark of endocrine-metabolic and hepatic diseases is the appearance or altered expression of pathological splicing variants (SVs). In fact, the components of the cellular machinery involved in the splicing pr...

p53 family controls several metabolic and cellular functions. The p63 member regulates lipid metabolism in hepatocytes and contributes to the development of liver steatosis. Here we show that p63 plays an important role in liver fibrosis. P63 is upregulated in patients with NASH, correlating positively with fibrosis score and collagen 1a1 expression. P63 expression is also increased in different animal models of diet-induced NASH and chemically induced liver fibrosis. Mice wit...

Development and progression of liver diseases, from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to steatohepatitis (NASH), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), seem to be accompanied by a dysregulation of the expression of alternative splicing variants (SVs) and appearance of aberrant SVs. The splicing factor 3B subunit 1 (SF3B1) represents a crucial player for the functional assembly of the spliceosome, the core machinery that controls the splicing process, and its activity can ...

Background and aimsG protein-coupled receptor 55 (GPR55) is a putative cannabinoid receptor, and l-α-lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI) is its only known endogenous ligand. Although GPR55 has been linked to energy homeostasis in different organs, its specific role in lipid metabolism in the liver and its contribution to the pathophysiology of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains unknown.MethodWe...

Background and aimsGlucose homeostasis is essential for life. The liver is among the key tissues for maintaining an adequate metabolic homeostasis and its alterations are at the root of the pathogenesis of many disease states. A perfect balance between glucose production, mainly at the liver, and glucose consumption in different tissues, is provided by the action of insulin and counterregulatory hormones as glucagon, cortisol or catecholamines. There is ...

Obesity is emerging as a prevalent cause of chronic liver damage, which can lead to the development of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), or even hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Increasing evidence suggests a profound dysregulation of the splicing machinery (spliceosome and splicing factors) in these pathologies; however, the role of PRPF8, a pivotal spliceosome element, has not been described in chronic liver pathologies. Th...

Background and aimsNonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major health threat in both developed and developing countries and is a precursor of the more advanced liver diseases including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. One of the numerous molecules participating in the development of liver steatosis is p63. Although p63 is mainly known for its roles as a tumor suppressor and cell maintenance and renewal, we ha...