Endocrine Abstracts

Transthyretin (TTR) distributes thyroxine in the cerebrospinal fluid of mammals. Choroid plexus epithelial cells produce and secrete TTR, and were long recognized as the only CNS source of TTR. However, research over the last years has reported neuronal-specific expression as well, but without a clear function. Recently, we found Ttr transcripts in cells of the adult mouse subventricular zone (SVZ), the largest neural stem cell (NSC) region, but the protein was undetectable. W...

BackgroundAppetite is complex, however to address the obesity epidemic, therapeutic agents would have to significantly influence appetite. Currently the most effective treatment for obesity is bariatric surgery because it reduces hunger and increases satiety. The satiety gut hormones such as peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon like peptide 1 (GLP-1) reduce appetite and food intake. Compared to lean and obese subjects, exaggerated postprandial responses of PYY ...

Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) is endoproteolysed by prohormone convertase-1 (PC1) to ACTH within the secretory pathway in pituitary cells, where the regulation of ACTH release is essential for mediating the stress response. However POMC is present in the human circulation, indicating that not all POMC is processed. This suggests that regulation of trafficking and processing of POMC are important in determining ACTH release. To investigate this, we analysed steady-state release o...

Animal and clinical models of GHRH excess suggest that GHRH provides an important trophic drive to pituitary somatotrophs. Mice in which GHRH neurons have been ablated using a novel viral ion channel transgene (GHRH-M2 mice) show marked anterior pituitary hypoplasia and GH deficiency although GH cells are present. GHRH-M2 mice are also deficient in prolactin which is surprising as GHRH has little or no direct effect on PRL synthesis or release (Le Tissier, Mol Endo 19). In mic...

Background: PYY is a gut hormone that physiologically inhibits appetite. Currently only radioimmunoassay (RIA) techniques are available for its estimation. The aim of the study was to evaluate our in-house assay for precision, detection limit, interference of haemolysis, suitability of serum versus plasma and biological variation within one subject.Method: All samples were obtained from one subject on two occasions following an over night fast and the co...

BACKGROUND: The reason for reduction in appetite following gastro intestinal bypass procedures in man and in animal models remains unclear. Rats following jejunum intestinal bypass eat significantly less compared to sham operated rats and this seem due to a transferable factor in plasma. Such a humoral factor may be a therapeutic option for obesity. PYY, produced from the distal small bowel and colon is elevated in man and rodents following small bowel resection and ilial bypa...

Objective: Graves’ orbitopathy (GO) is an autoimmune disease that affects about 25% of the patients with Graves’ disease. The thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) is the main autoantigen of GO. Somatostatin receptors (SSR) are expressed by orbital fibroblasts (OB) of GO patients. Pasireotide (SOM230) is a somatostatin analog that has a great affinity for the type 1 and type 5 SSRs and inhibits both orbital human lymphocyte and OB proliferation in vitro. Therefore it is intere...

Context: Previous studies suggest that patients with acromegaly were at higher risk of vertebral fractures (VFs) despite normal bone mineral density (BMD). However, these patients could have several associated endocrine deficits known to increase the fracture risk, such as hypogonadism. In addition, patients with acromegaly have radiological deformations of the spine, called Erdheim’s syndrome, which can overestimate the radiological VFs.Objective: ...

The leptin/melanocortin pathway plays a critical role in hypothalamic control of food intake. Variants in the genes involved in this pathway, such as leptin (LEP), its receptor (LEPR), proopiomelanocortin (POMC) or proconvertase 1 (PCSK1) are associated with early-onset severe obesity and endocrine abnormalities especially in case of homozygosity. Heterozygous variants in the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) gene are associated with an increased risk of severe obesity. The aim i...

Introduction: The diagnosis of non-HIV lipodystrophies is challenging, especially since borderline forms with type 2 diabetes have been described (Strickland Diabetes Care 2013).Objective: To identify the most specific anthropometric and biological parameters enabling to differentiate lipodystrophic from obese and control subjects.Methods: This prospective study (clin.gov 2009-AO-1169-48) included 94 patients divided in 3 groups ad...