Endocrine Abstracts

Orexin-A and orexin-B orchestrate their diverse central and peripheral effects via two G-protein coupled receptors, orexin-1 receptor (OX1R) and OX2R, which activate multiple G-proteins. In many tissues, orexins activate MAPKs, however, the mechanism by which OX2R alone mediates MAPK activation is not understood. We studied the intracellular signaling mechanisms involved in OX2R-mediated ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK activation. In HEK-293 cells stably over-expressing recombi...

Obesity has long been recognized as an independent risk factor in heart failure. The mechanisms proposed to explain this correlation include hemodynamic changes secondary to obesity, leading to left ventricular remodeling and systolic dysfunction, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis induced by increased lipid accumulation into cardiomyocytes. Adipose tissue is an endocrine organ that secretes a wide variety of bioactive factors, which seem to mediate communication between adipose tiss...

Aim: Cardiovascular disease is more common in individuals with diabetes mellitus and obesity. Visfatin is elevated in obesity and T2DM; and thought to be an inflammatory mediator within atherosclerotic lesions inducing gelatinase activity, contributing to plaque destabilisation. We investigated the activation of NF-κB, a well-known pro-inflammatory transcription factor, by visfatin, in Human Endothelial Cells (EC).Research design and methods: We sta...

The melanocortin system plays a significant role in the hypothalamic regulation of body weight and energy expenditure. Prolonged central administration of the melanocortin receptor 4 (MC-4) agonist ACTH(4-10) reduces body weight in animals and humans by increasing energy expenditure and by reducing food intake. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of intranasally administered alpha-MSH on local lipolysis in subcutaneous adipose tissue and on sympathetic nerve ac...

Objective: Androgen may be detrimental in the development of cardiovascular disease in women. We investigated possible associations between the (TAAAA)n polymorphism of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) gene promoter, which influences transcriptional efficiency of the SHBG gene and thus the tissue androgen availability and early markers of atherosclerosis in apparently healthy women.Design and methods: In this prospective clinical study, 153 con...

Introduction: With the onset of puberty blood pressure increases more in men than in women while boys and girls do not show any gender differences in blood pressure. Androgens are known to play an important role in renal tubular epithelial cell growth, hypertrophy and erythropoetin production and may be important determinants of sex-specific differences in blood pressure. However, the exact mechanisms are not clear yet.Methods: Male Wistar rats aged 8&#1...

Selective enhancement of glucocorticoid action in adipose tissue has been shown to induce characteristic features of the metabolic syndrome. Adipocyte-derived factors provide a link between altered adipose tissue mass and function and cardiovascular disease. However, key mechanisms controlling these pathophysiological alterations in adipose tissue are poorly understood. Recently, both, the glucocorticoid (GR) and the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), have been shown to mediate ...

Disruption of the balance in energy homeostasis and substrate metabolism can lead to obesity and the metabolic syndrome on one hand and body wasting in cachexia associated with cancer and other chronic diseases on the other hand. Indirect evidence suggests that prostaglandins (PGs), products of the cyclooxygenase (COX) pathway, are involved in the regulation of metabolic processes under physiological conditions or during disease, in particular cancer cachexia. However, the dir...

Breast cancer cells may present a number of resistance mechanisms to conventional therapy, and therefore new treatments are under evaluation. The histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDI) valproic acid (VPA) is of particular interest, since having been used for a long time in neurological patients its side-effects and tolerability are well known. We have recently demonstrated that VPA is a powerful antiproliferative agent in estrogen-sensitive breast cancer cells. Unfortunately, its...