ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: In the last years, the relationship between clinical markers and blood parameters has been evaluated closely as part of transversal studies, but a longitudinal approach might be more useful in explaining its complexity.Aim: The study aims to evaluate the relationship between changes in the values of clinical markers and of the inflammatory, biochemical and hormonal profiles of obese and overweight children ...

Background: Acquisition and maintenance of fertility in mammals rely on the function of Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH) neurons. During the juvenile period, GnRH neurons undergo morphological maturation, which involves changes in synaptic inputs and neuropeptide activation from afferent neurons. The functional importance of this maturation could be a pre-requisite for puberty onset. However, the mechanisms behind these dynamic changes have yet to be identified.<p cla...

Background: DMXL2 haploinsufficiency in humans was recently shown to cause the polyendocrine-polyneuropathia syndrome including a GnRH deficiency (OMIM #616113). The neuronal deletion of Dmxl2 in mice (Nes::Cre;Dmxl2loxp/wt) caused infertility and gonadotropic deficiency (Plos Biology 9 e1001952, 2014). Dmxl2 encodes rabconnectin-3α (rbcn-3α), which participates in the control of the V-ATPase activity an...

Background: Thyroid hormone disrupting chemicals (THDCs) which are present in the environment, food and everyday consumer products, interfere with thyroid hormone signaling, possibly by interacting with thyroid hormone receptors (THRs). This alters the thyroid hormone homeostasis and affects various functions regulated by the thyroid hormone e.g. macronutrient metabolism, cardiovascular function, and normal brain development. Therefore, there is a necessity for detection and m...

Background: Bone development and remodeling are controlled by the phosphoinositid-3-kinase (PI3K) signaling pathway. We investigated the effects of downregulation of phosphatase and tensin homolog (Pten), a negative regulator of PI3K signaling, in osteoprogenitor cells.Methods: Femura, tibiae and bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) from mice with Cre-inducible Pten knockdown in cells expressing the transcription factor Ost...

Optogenetics represents a powerful new approach to modulate the activity of excitable cells in the body. Based upon the ability of specific wavelengths of light to activate newly discovered and engineered opsin-based receptors, optogenetics can be used to control the activity of cells with very high temporal resolution. Opsin-based receptors, most often channelrhodopsin (ChR), need to be expressed selectively in the cell type under investigation. This is achieved by generating...

Background: Signaling through the phosphoinositid-3-kinase (PI3K) pathway modulates bone development and remodeling. We aimed to dissect the role of phosphatase and tensin homolog (Pten), a negative regulator of PI3K signaling, in osteoprogenitor cells.Methods: Femura, tibiae and bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) from mice with Cre-inducible Pten knockdown in cells expressing the transcription factor Osterix (Pten cKO) a...

Objectives: To test whether Gabra5 in POMC neurons regulates energy balance and glucose metabolism in sexually dimorphic fashion.Methods: POMC-Cre mice received stereotaxic injections of AAV-FLEX-scCAS9 and AAV-FLEX-Gabra5-sgRNA-tdTOMATO into ARH to generate pomc-Gabra5 KO mice. Both male and female mice were fed on regular chow diet or HFD. Food intake, body weight and anal temperature were measured every 4 days. Fat/le...

Introduction: The thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) has a key role in the thyroid gland. It is involved in folliculogenesis, differentiation, organogenesis, and thyroid hormone synthesis and production. Its genetic defects can cause poor differentiation (thyroid dysgenesis) and/or thyroid malfunction (thyroid dyshormonogenesis, TD). Therefore, its phenotype spectrum is wide, ranging from severe congenital hypothyroidism (CH) to mild hyperthyrotropinemia. Some hetero...

Background: Raine Syndrome (RS) is characterized by hypophosphatemia and typical facial dysmorphic features. Subperiostal thickening and diffuse generalized osteosclerosis are the most common radiological findings. Biallelic loss of function mutations in FAM20Cgene cause RS and by reduction of the transcription of DMP1 leads to FGF23-related hypophosphatemia. Here we present a new case with RS.Case: A 9-month-ol...