Endocrine Abstracts

Men show an age-associated decline in 24-hour circulating testosterone levels, but the reason for this decline is unclear. To shed light on the possible cause we first established that male rhesus monkeys undergo a similar decline in testosterone with age. Testosterone from young adult (∼10 years) and old (∼26 years) unanaesthetized males was measured by RIA from blood samples collected remotely through a vascular catheter, every 30 minutes for 24 hours. In both yo...

Obesity and adipokines are associated with a state of chronic low grade inflammation (Trayhurn & Wood 2004).In view of our findings that the adipokines resistin and fiaf (fasting-induced adipose factor) are also expressed in mouse brain and pituitary gland (Wiesner et al 2004), we tested the hypothesis that these factors would be induced in brain tissue following cerebral hypoxia/ischemia (H/I). Neonatal H/I (postnatal day 8; unilateral common c...

Adipokines such as resistin and FIAF (fasting-induced adipose factor) are predominantly, but not exclusively, expressed in adipose tissue and may modulate insulin sensitivity and lipid metabolism. We reported that resistin and fiaf mRNA, and resistin protein, are detectable in the mouse hypothalamus and pituitary gland (see eg. Wiesner et al. 2004). We are investigating the regulation of these genes in a novel hypothalamic neuronal cell line (n-1; Belsham ...

Obesity is a risk factor for the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Adiponectin, a 30 kDa peptide secreted from adipocytes has been shown to be anti-atherogenic, and anti-inflammatory, as well as affecting insulin resistance and pancreatic beta-cell function. This study investigated the levels of expression of the adiponectin receptor subtypes 1 and 2 (AdR-1 and AdR-2) and regulation of their expression in the pancreatic BRIN-BD11 beta-cells line. Cells were cultured in R...

Arachidonic acid (AA) metabolites derived from cytochrome P450 enzymes regulate vascular tone and renal tubular function. The cytochrome P450 4A (Cyp4A) enzymes are responsible for the synthesis of 20- hydroxyeicosatetraenoic (20-HETE), the most abundantly produced AA Cyp P450 metabolite in the kidney. Cyp4a expression and the production of 20-HETE, have been implicated in the development of hypertension. Here we have investigated the expression of various renal isoforms of Cy...

WNK1 and WNK4 are serine/threonine kinases, With-No-K (lysine) residue at a key catalytic position within the active site. Mutations in either cause Pseudohypoaldosteronism type II (Gordon syndrome), an autosomal dominant, hypertensive, hyperkalaemic disorder, especially responsive to thiazide diuretics (first line treatment for essential hypertension). This novel WNK pathway is implicated in normal regulation of blood pressure (BP) and distal nephron Na+/K+</s...

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) regulate growth, differentiation and apoptosis in a variety of tissues and have crucial roles in the regulation of reproduction. BMPs bind specific Type II receptors and form complexes with Type I receptors (Alk2, 3 or 6) whereby the Type II receptors activate Type I receptors by phosphorylation. BMP2 and 4 play a crucial role in the development of the gonadotroph cell lineage during mouse pituitary morphogenesis and BMP6, 7, and 15 stimulate...

BackgroundIt has been shown that diets high in cis-MUFA and high-antioxidant diets are beneficial in type 2 diabetes (Garg 1998; Ros 2003; Franz et al. 2002). The aim of our study was to assess compliance with current dietary recommendations (Diabetes UK 2003) with particular emphasis on these nutrients.MethodsEthical approval was obtained to use a food diary and lifestyle questionnaire. 120 Cau...

The extracellular calcium-sensing receptor (CaR) plays a key role in the body's capacity to maintain a nearly constant level of the extracellular ionized calcium concentration. The parathyroid glands play an especially important role in calcium homeostasis through their capacity to sense even minute perturbations in the extracellular calcium concentration and to respond in ways that will normalize the level of extracellular calcium. In response to hypocalcemia, for example, in...

Many marine sponges have been shown to produce metabolites with cell growth and endocrine altering activities. We tested crude extracts (1.0 mg/ml) from two species (AV and SB) for effects on levels of an important cell cycle regulatory protein, cyclin B1; cell cycle growth-phase (sub-G1/Apoptosis, G1, S, and G2/M), as well as on cell survival in SW-13 human adrenal carcinoma cultures. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis studies of cyclin B1 levels indicate a 60-90 % reduction ...