ESPE Abstracts

Background: DLK1 (PREF1) is a key inhibitor of adipogenesis and adipocyte differentiation. Adipose tissue expansion depends on adequate adipocyte differentiation. However, whether lower DLK1 expression facilitates adipose tissue expansion following fetal growth restriction is so far unknown.Objective and hypotheses: To study the expression of DLK1 in the adipose tissue of prenatally growth-restricted rats and its relat...

Background: Adipose tissue (AT) in obesity is characterized by low grade inflammation. The apoptosis inhibitor of macrophages (AIM; also called CD5L) is incorporated into adipocytes leading to increased lipolysis. Excess AIM-dependent lipolysis induces adipose tissue macrophage recruitment. M1 (proinflammatory) macrophage infiltration, with surface marker CD40, correlates with metabolic complications.Objective and hypotheses: To study serum levels and AT...

Introduction: Anti-obesity drugs with increased efficacy and safety are urgently being sought. Peptide YY3–36 (PYY3–36) is an attractive drug target due to its anorectic effect and decreased circulation concentration, without drug resistance, in obese individuals. Its short half-life and required method of delivery are limiting factors in its clinical application. Transport and uptake mechanisms, including blood-brain barrier passage, of vitamin B12 (B12) is highly e...

Background: Early-onset severe obesity due to leptin deficiency typically results from a defect of leptin production or secretion due to mutations in the leptin gene. Recently we described a new form of leptin deficiency caused by bioinactivity of the hormone and associated with high circulating leptin levels (New England Journal of Medicine 2015 372 48–54).Method: Serum leptin was measured by ELISA. The leptin gene was seq...

Background: The nutritional and hormonal state in utero may be a link between maternal obesity and obesity in the offspring. The gene expression in placentae in pregnancies complicated by diabetes is reduced for leptin, but increased for ghrelin. It is not known whether these genes’ expressions in placentae are altered in maternal obesity.Objectives and hypotheses: To compare obese and normal-weight women and their children concerning gene ...

Background: Adiponetin is considered a protective hormone exhibiting beneficial effects against insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered the hepatic component of insulin resistance. Pharmacological activation of adiponectin signaling might be helpful for treatment of NAFLD, but it is difficult to develop the whole adiponectin protein as a drug because the C-terminal globular domain of adiponectin is extreme...