Endocrine Abstracts

Low plasma SHBG is an independent risk factor of cardiovascular disease. Our recent work has shown that SHBG gene expression can be regulated indirectly through HNF4α gene expression. In this regard, we have identified that an increase in hepatic palmitate induced by high carbohydrate diets and pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNFα and IL1β) was able to reduce hepatic HNF4α protein levels which, in turn, decreased SHBG production. The Mediterranean diet, in whic...

Human sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) is produced and secreted by the liver and it binds androgens and estrogens with high affinity. In blood, SHBG acts as a carrier of these sex steroids and regulates their bioavailability. Low plasma SHBG levels are associated with obesity, abdominal adiposity and metabolic syndrome, and predict the development of type 2 diabetes. In addition, an inverse relationship between plasma SHBG levels and risk of cardiovascular disease has been ...

Low plasma SHBG levels are present in patients suffering chronic metabolic diseases, including obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In overweight individuals, low plasma SHBG levels are a biomarker for the metabolic syndrome and predict a higher risk of suffering type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Our recent results demonstrate that SHBG is more than sex hormone carrier and its reduction in obese subjects play an active role in obesity and NAFLD deve...

Epidemiological studies have shown that plasma SHBG levels correlate with plasma adiponectin levels, both in men and women. To the best of our knowledge there are no reports describing any molecular mechanism by which adiponectin regulates hepatic SHBG production. The aim of the present study is to explore whether adiponectin regulates SHBG production by increasing HNF-4α levels through reducing hepatic lipid content. For this purpose, in vitro studies using huma...

Low plasma sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels are present in patients suffering chronic metabolic diseases, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, whether altered SHBG production plays a role in development and progression of this disease is unclear. To investigate SHBG involvement in NAFLD, we studied the effects of overexpressing SHBG in two mouse models, a genetically-induced model, by developing a double transgenic mouse by crossing the human...