Endocrine Abstracts

Inflammation and dysfunction of the hypothalamus is a common feature of experimental diet-induced obesity. As in any inflammatory process, both pro- and anti-inflammatory activity is expected to take place in the hypothalamus of obese animals. Here, we test the hypothesis that consumption of a saturated fatty acid-rich diet can modulate the activity of the important immunomodulatory system of the resolvins in the hypothalamus. Swiss mice were fed for 8 or 16 weeks (w) either o...

TLR4 activation and the induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) are two of the most important mechanisms connecting excessive dietary fat with insulin resistance. TLR4 activation is a primary event in the induction of cellular stress that contributes to increased inflammatory gene expression in metabolic diseases. However, the mechanisms linking these molecular events are unknown. The chaperones GRP78 and GRP94 play an important role during the assembly of newly transl...

Introduction: Hypothalamic AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has emerged as a key molecular player in energy homeostasis. It participates of glucose homeostasis modulating liver glucose production. It is known that endotoxin shock presents various complicated metabolic aspects. Among them, in later phase circulatory collapse and hypoglycemia are induced with a deterioration of energy metabolism. Here we evaluated the participation of hypothalamic AMPK in the modulation of he...

Topiramate (TPM) is an anticonvulsant drug used for the treatment of epilepsy and prophylaxis of migraine. Weight loss is a side effect frequently reported in patients and animal models treated with TPM. Some studies showed that TPM may decrease energy storage, and thus increase energy expenditure and thermogenesis. However, the mechanisms by which TPM reduces body weight are not completely understood. Anorexigenic hormones such as insulin and leptin regulate the activity of d...