Endocrine Abstracts

In addition to markers such as FSH and inhibin A or B, anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) has recently received much attention as a marker of ovarian function. It has become clear that AMH is secreted by the postnatal ovary and is specifically produced by the granulosa cells in growing follicles from the primary to the small antral stage (in mice) or the larger antral follicle stage (in women) that have not undergone cyclic recruitment by FSH.Since AMH is...

Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH), is a member of the TGFbeta family of growth and differentiation factors. Also known as mullerian inhibiting substance, AMH plays an essential role during male sex differentiation, where it signals the regression of the mullerian ducts.However, in the postnatal female AMH plays an important role in growth and development of ovarian follicles. In both rodents and women, AMH is expressed in primary follicles immediately after t...

Recent studies have shown that serum concentrations of AMH (produced by granulosa cells of the human ovary) are positively related to the number of antral follicles and are negatively correlated with age. Like inhibin B (also a granulosa cell product) AMH is thought to be a useful clinical marker of follicle reserve. Serum AMH concentrations have been reported to be higher than normal in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which is characterised by an excess of antral...

The peptides acylated and unacylated ghrelin (AG and UAG) are produced predominantly in the stomach. AG is the only known circulating orexigenic hormone with obesogenic and insulin-desensitising properties. Recent evidence suggests that UAG can inhibit these activities of AG. To investigate potential inhibitory effects of UAG and AZP-531, a UAG analogue, on AG-induced appetite and obesity we used an established rat model of diet induced obesity. Animals were fed a high-fat die...

Ghrelin, the endogenous GH secretagogue, has an important role in metabolic homeostasis. It exists in two major molecular forms: acylated (AG) and des-acylated (DAG). Many studies suggest different roles for these two forms in energy balance regulation. In the present study, we compared the effects of acute intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of AG, DAG and their combination (AG+DAG) to young adult Wistar rats on food intake and central melanocortin system modulation....

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine disorder in women in their reproductive years, is defined by two out of the following three criteria: hyperandrogenism, oligo/anovulation, and polycystic ovaries. Affected women are often obese and insulin-resistant. Recently, we developed a mouse PCOS-model through chronic exposure to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Here, we studied whether the PCOS-phenotype remains after withdrawal of DHT treatment, which would more clo...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women in their reproductive age. Based on the Rotterdam criteria PCOS is defined by two out of the following three criteria: hyperandrogenism, oligo/anovulation, and polycystic ovaries. In addition, PCOS patients are often abdominal obese, which can lead to insulin resistance. The subsequent increased insulin levels stimulate the ovary to further increased androgen production. Thus, the elevated androgen...

Introduction: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders of premenopausal women. It is also the most frequent cause of female infertility and affects 6.5–8% of women in their reproductive age. Two out of three criteria diagnoses PCOS: oligo- or anovulation, clinical or biochemical signs of hyperandrogenism and polycystic ovaries at ultrasound. In addition, PCOS women frequently display features of the metabolic syndrome, such as abdomin...

Objective: Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) has recently been evaluated as a marker for follicle reserve and as a new marker for ovarian function in women. In the male, it is produced in Sertoli cells (SC) in the testis. We evaluated serum levels of AMH as a marker of SC function and male fertility by comparing normo- and oligozoospermic men.Materials and methods: Serum levels of AMH were determined by enzyme immunoassay in two groups of men with normal...

Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) has an important regulatory role both in early folliculogenesis (inhibiting the recruitment of follicles from the primordial pool into the growing phase) and at the antral stage (where it inhibits the action of FSH). In the mouse, AMH action appears to be mediated by a heterodimeric receptor complex comprising a type I receptor and the specific AMH receptor AMHRII, which is essential for AMH signalling in the murine ovary. Post-receptor signalling ...