ESPE Abstracts

Background: Type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-1R) is the product of a single-copy gene located on chromosome 15 and is ubiquitously expressed in humans. Increased hepatic IGF-1R gene expression is found in hepatocellular carcinoma and in chronic hepatitis C, making parenchymal and non-parenchymal cells more susceptible to the mitogenic effects of IGF-1.Objective and hypotheses: As we have previously demonstrated that IGF-1 and IGF-2 circula...

Background: Non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in childhood, in obese subjects and associated with insulin resistance.FOXO1 is a key regulator in insulin signalling and in intracellular adipogenesis, and is implicated in liver steatosis. We have previously identified that a group of miRNAs are involved in its epigenetic regulation.Objective and hypotheses: We aimed to assess in liver tissue and in serum whe...

Background: Fetuin A is a hepatokine known as a natural inhibitor of the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase and is associated with insulin resistance and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Studies on adults provided conflicting results regarding the link between fetuin A and the severity of liver damage in NAFLD. Data on children are limited.Objective: To investigate the relationship between fetuin A, metabolic parameters, and NAFLD in obese childre...

Background: Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) has a relative hypoinsulinemia and a lower insulin resistance than non-PWS subjects. Mostly on the basis of such higher insulin sensitivity, PWS subjects have been hypothesized to be at lower risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).Objective and hypotheses: In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed the presence and the severity of NAFLD in a group of PWS children compared to matched pairs.<p cla...

Background: The incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is dramatically increasing among children worldwide. The gold standard for diagnosis is the liver biopsy. Reliable serum markers are lacking. Recently, circulating miRNAs have been studied as biomarkers of disease progression. Specifically, miR-122 was proposed as predictive marker for liver disease in adults, while no data are available for children.Objective and hypotheses: To inves...