Endocrine Abstracts

Background: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18FDG) PET is commonly used to quantify brown adipose tissue (BAT) mass/activity in humans but requires cold exposure. Rodent brown (BAds) but not white adipocytes (WAds) exhibit high choline content, thus we hypothesised that human BAT would demonstrate substantial 18F-fluorocholine (18FCH) uptake in vivo during warm and cold conditions.Methods: (1)...

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a spectrum of disease ranging from intrahepatic lipid accumulation to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Liver 5β-reductase (AKR1D1) catalyses a fundamental step in bile acid (BA) synthesis. BAs and BA intermediates are potent regulators of metabolic and proliferative phenotype. We have hypothesised that AKR1D1 plays a crucial role in NAFLD and HCC. Liver biopsies and serum samples were obtained from healt...

Background: In women, androgen excess is associated with an increased risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Androgen precursors are released from the adrenal gland and converted to active androgens in peripheral tissues including adipose tissue. Although the liver plays a key role in all metabolic processes in the body, its involvement in androgen metabolism is yet to be explored. Here, we describe the investigation of androgen metabolism in human liver using norm...

Bariatric surgery is known to improve obesity-induced systemic inflammation and glucose homeostasis, however, the exact mechanisms behind this effect are not fully understood. We have previously shown that Sodium Glucose Transporter 2 (SGLT2) is significantly inhibited in the kidney cortex following Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG), causing a reduction in renal glucose reabsorption. In this study, we hypothesize that the observed post-operative reduction of SGLT2 is controlle...

Introduction: Increased hepatic de novo lipogenesis (DNL) is often associated with greater intrahepatic triglyceride (IHTG) content and/or decreased insulin sensitivity; however, the contribution of DNL to each has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, the present work determined if increased DNL, achieved via adoption of an isocaloric high-sugar diet, resulted in concomitant increases in IHTG content and/or decreases in insulin sensitivity.Methods: Sixt...

Backgrounds and aims: Enteroendocrine cells (EECs) are hormone-secreting cells within the intestinal epithelium that play an important role in regulating food absorption, insulin secretion and appetite. The somatostatin (SST)-producing D-cell is an EEC of particular interest due to the profound inhibition exerted by SST over other EECs, highlighting D-cells as critical regulator of the enteroendocrine axis. The aim of this study was to profile the transcriptom...