Endocrine Abstracts

Laboratory rats are commonly used to study energy homeostasis. To accurately record food intake or energy expenditure it is necessary to house rats individually, which can be stressful for social animals. Environmental enrichment may reduce stress and improve welfare in laboratory rodents. However, the effect of environmental enrichment on food intake and thus experimental outcome in rats is unknown. We aimed to determine the effect of environmental enrichment on food intake, ...

Leptin is an adipocyte-derived cytokine critical to the integration of energy homeostasis and reproduction which putatively acts as a metabolic gate for the onset of puberty. However, it is unknown whether the age of puberty reflects leptin levels or leptin sensitivity. If pubertal age reflects leptin sensitivity, it may also reflect susceptibility to diet-induced obesity.We hypothesised that age of pubertal onset reflects leptin sensitivity. We assessed...

Neuromedin B (NMB) is a highly conserved bombesin-related peptide found in mammals. The mammalian bombesin family of receptors consists of three closely related G protein coupled receptors, BB1, BB2 and BB3. The BB1 receptor subtype has the highest affinity for NMB. NMB mRNA is detected in the CNS and is expressed at relatively high levels in the rat hypothalamus, in particular the medial preoptic area and the arcuate nucleus.<p ...

Pancreatic polypeptide (PP) is a 36 amino acid peptide, secreted from the endocrine pancreas. Previous work has shown that peripheral administration of PP inhibits food intake in rodents and humans. However, PP has a short circulating half-life that limits its use as an anti-obesity agent. Determining the mechanisms involved in the physiological breakdown of PP will allow the rational design of long-acting analogues with greater clinical utility in the treatment of obesity. PP...

Peptide YY (PYY) is a satiety hormone that communicates nutritional status to the central nervous system. PYY is released postprandially from endocrine L-cells in proportion to calories consumed. It is processed to generate the principle bioactive form PYY3–36, which acts on Y2 receptors in feeding centres within the brainstem and hypothalamus to reduce appetite. Chronic intravenous infusion of PYY3–36 induces weight loss in rodents, and obese humans display low plas...

The General Medical Council’s publication ‘Outcomes for Graduates’ places emphasis on doctors being able to integrate biomedical science, research, and scholarship with clinical practice. In response, a new paradigm of assessment was introduced for the intercalated Bachelor of Science (iBSc) in Endocrinology program at Imperial College School of Medicine. The approach involves authentic “active learning” assessments analogous to tasks encountered in a ...

The term Leaky Gut Syndrome (LGS) describes a collection of a range of symptoms, including abdominal pain, bloating, recurring diarrhoea, bloody stools and weight loss, when a diagnosis has not been, or cannot be, made. It can be associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), celiac disease, chemotherapy and radiation therapies, and endocrine conditions including obesity and diabetes. The common underlying features of LGS are gut inflammation and an increase in gastrointest...

The regulation of insulin and glucagon secretion has traditionally been attributed to the gut-brain axis and direct sensing of blood glucose levels by pancreatic islets. However, the enteric nervous system may directly modulate pancreatic hormone release. This study focuses on a specific population of enteric neurons that exhibit the capability to transmit signals from the gut to the pancreas, potentially revealing new pathways of metabolic regulation. The gastrointestinal tra...

Introduction: Patients with hypopituitarism often report poor quality of life (QoL) despite adequate hormonal replacement therapy. Oxytocin, a peptide hormone produced in the hypothalamus and released by the posterior pituitary, has been known for its role in social and emotional behaviour. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between oxytocin and QoL domains in patients with hypopituitarism under optimal hormonal replacement therapy.<p class="abste...

Protein stimulates insulin release and improves post-prandial glycaemic excursions. The underlying mechanism has previously been attributed to gastric emptying, incretin release and direct pancreatic stimulation. However, our studies suggest the calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) in the vagus nerve plays an important role. The CaSR has a well characterised role in calcium homeostasis, but also acts as a protein metabolite sensor. In response to the amino acid products of protein ...