Endocrine Abstracts

Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (LpPLA2) is a member of the phospholipaseA2 super family of enzymes, and is upregulated in arterial inflammation, obesity and cardiovascular disease. The other isoforms, iPLA2 and cPLA2, appear to contribute to inflammation through production of lipid mediators. The role of PLA2 in human adipose tissue (AT) is unclear, therefore we sought to i) characterise PLA2 isoforms in lean, obese, T2DM abdominal subcutaneous (AbdSc) and omental (Om...

Background/objectives: Irisin is a novel myokine, released predominantly by skeletal muscle. Peripheral action of irisin improves glucose homeostasis, increases energy expenditure and induces browning of adipocytes, with therapeutic potential for use in weight loss. However, there are no human studies on the central role of irisin in the regulation of appetite or energy expenditure. This study sought to examine the potential central role of irisin, by demonstrating irisin in h...

Studies in India (vegetarian population) show that vitamin B12 insufficiency is common in pregnancy and independently predict adiposity and insulin resistance in the offspring. Epigenetic programming is postulated as, along with folic acid, B12 is crucial for DNA methylation. Therefore, we investigated whether maternal B12 levels in a non-vegetarian UK population predict metabolic risk of the offspring.Paired maternal venous and cord blood samples (n...

Objective: Vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk of type two diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease reduced through Vitamin D3 supplementation. However to the best of our knowledge, no research has determined the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation in conjunction with existing pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches to the DMT2 population. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation in a co...

Mitochondria are essential for synthesising ATP required for cellular metabolism. In response to changes in their cellular environment, mitochondria are able to alter their morphology and abundance through the balance of “fusion” and “fission” events. The aim of this study was to profile the expression of mitochondrial genes in the abdominal subcutaneous (AbSc) adipose tissue (AT) of lean, obese and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) individuals and determine ...

Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) is a member of the phospholipase A2 super family of enzymes that hydrolyse phospholipids, and is upregulated in arterial inflammation, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Secreted soluble Lp-PLA2 (sPLA2) increases arterial inflammation in addition to cytosolic calcium dependent PLA2 (cPLA2) and calcium independent PLA2 (iPLA2). These studies examined the influence of adipose tissue (AT) depots (abdominal subcutaneous (Abd Sc), ...

Background and aims: The mechanisms in HIV by which mitochondrial dysfunction occurs, leading to impaired energy homeostasis and metabolic regulation, are unclear; although similarities are noted in T2DM. Therefore, we investigated the effect of HIV status and ARV therapy on several mitochondrial and nuclear encoded genes related to mitochondrial metabolism and energy homeostasis.Materials and methods: Subcutaneous AT biopsies from the ileac crest were o...

Background and objectives: Obesity-associated inflammation is a key contributory factor in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Murine studies have revealed potential links between obesity-induced activation of the innate immune response and endoplasmic reticular (ER) stress. Our aims were therefore to (1) examine whether human abdominal subcutaneous (AbSc) adipose tissue (AT) obtained from lean and obese patients, differs in the level of ER stress, through ass...

Aims/hypothesis: Adiponectin is an adipocyte-derived secretory factor that is highly specifically expressed in adipocytes. It exerts effects on energy homeostasis via peripheral and central mechanisms. However, it is not clear whether adiponectin is crossing the blood brain barrier in humans. In serum, adiponectin circulates in several different complexes, each of which has distinct functions. Here, we wanted to test whether adiponectin can be found in human cerebrospinal flui...

Background: Human obesity can significantly contribute to hypertension risk, often referred to as the ‘silent killer’, although targeting whom with weight gain becomes clinically hypertensive is unclear. Whilst therapeutic intervention such as bariatric surgery can mitigate both obesity and hypertension, it is not the most suitable solution for all patients. Therefore an early biomarker detection system to assess hypertension in subjects with weight gain could reduce...