Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Limited data exists on the hormonal mediators connecting metabolism and reproduction. Animal studies show that the reproductive hormone, kisspeptin, may also be important in metabolism. We investigated the effects of kisspeptin on human metabolism for the first time, to explore possible kisspeptin-mediated links between reproduction and metabolism.Methods: We performed intravenous glucose tolerance tests (IVGTTs) in 15 healthy men (age 25&#17...

Background and Aims: β cell connectivity is a feature of pancreatic islets in vitro but its existence in vivo, when innervated and continuously perfused with blood, has not yet been demonstrated. We imaged islets engrafted in the anterior chamber of the mouse eye (ACE) to explore this question.Methods: Mouse (C57BL6, Ins1Cre::GCaM6mf/f) or human islets infected with adenovirus to express GCaMP6m, were engrafted and Ca<su...

Introduction: The development of accurate non-invasive markers to diagnose and stage non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is of high importance to reduce the need for an invasive liver biopsy. These markers help to stratify patients at highest risk of hepatic and cardio-metabolic complications and allow tracking of disease progression and treatment response. We have previously described alterations in glucocorticoid metabolism that are differentially regulated across the ...

Glucocorticoids (Gcs) are used in the treatment of inflammatory disorders including asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. However, long-term use can cause metabolic side-effects including obesity and diabetes. Previous studies have shown that Gcs increase Agrp expression and that AgRP/NPY/GABA (ANG) neurons can regulate appetite and insulin sensitivity. To investigate the effects of chronic Gc treatment directly on ANG neurons, we crossed AgRP-IRES-Cre with GR...

As the nation gets fatter, the incidence of diabetes is also rising. The brain is now emerging as a critical mediator of blood sugar control, re-directing focus away from the traditional pancreas-centred model. The enzyme glucokinase (GK) acts as a glucose sensor in many tissues including glucose-sensitive neurones within the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus. However, the role of GK here is unclear. We investigated the role of arcuate GK in glucose homeostasis in both healthy and ...

Steroid hormones and BAs are established regulators of metabolic phenotype. 5β-reductase (AKR1D1) is highly expressed in the liver where it inactivates steroid hormones and catalyses a fundamental step in bile acid (BA) synthesis. We have hypothesised that AKR1D1 plays a crucial regulatory role in hepatic metabolic homeostasis. Genetic manipulation of AKR1D1 was performed in human liver HepG2 and Huh7 cells. Expression changes were confirmed by qPCR and western blotting, ...