Endocrine Abstracts

EGFR ligands, a family of seven related peptide growth factors, are emerging as key factors regulating different aspects of female reproduction including oocyte maturation and ovulation, and implantation. Betacellulin (BTC) is a rather neglected EGFR ligand whose biological activities have been mostly associated with the endocrine pancreas. During the routine breeding of recently established BTC transgenic mouse lines (Schneider et al., Endocrinology 146, 5237–5246, 2005)...

Betacellulin, one of several peptides activating the EGFR (ErbB1) and related receptors, is a multipotent growth factor known to posses the unique ability to promote growth and differentiation of pancreatic β-cells.We investigated the effects of betacellulin overexpression in a recently established transgenic mouse model (Schneider et al., Endocrinology 146, 5237–5246, 2005). In transgenic animals, overall glucose metabolism was improved...