Endocrine Abstracts

There is a long-standing belief that over-supply of fatty acids from adipose tissue might underlie insulin resistance and other components of the metabolic syndrome. Elevated NEFA concentrations may cause insulin resistance of glucose metabolism in liver and muscle, increased hepatic VLDL-triacylglycerol production, impaired endothelial function and, perhaps in the longer term, impairment of insulin secretion. Plasma non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA, or free fatty acid) concent...

Excess weight/obesity is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Mechanisms linking obesity to insulin resistance in other liver and skeletal muscle are of considerable interest and the role of adipokines, in particular adiponectin, has come under considerable interest. Adiponectin is exclusively produced by fat cells but its circulating levels are paradoxically reduced in obesity. Current weight of evidence from prospective studies suggest that high adiponectin levels are pr...

Several enzymes are expressed in adipose tissue which catalyse interconversion of steroids, generating oestrogens (aromatase), androgens (5α-reductase 1), and glucocorticoids (11β-HSD1). These steroids may activate local receptors which influence body fat accumulation and distribution, or be secreted to exert endocrine effects. Several mouse models (e.g. aromatase and 11β-HSD1 knockout mice and studies with 11β-HSD1 inhibitors) illustrate the potential impo...

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