ESPE Abstracts

Background: The phenotypic effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may depend on their parental origin. PLAGL1 is an imprinted gene expressed from the paternal allele in placenta that is associated with fetal growth, transient neonatal diabetes mellitus and postnatal growth disorders. The mechanisms whereby PLAG1 regulates fetal growth are, however, unknown.Objective and hypotheses: To study if the preferential paternal transm...

Background: The human microbiota has emerged as an unexpected modulator of the immune system. The placenta, long thought to be sterile, harbors a unique microbiome and variations in their composition could be related to prevent pregnancy disorders.Objective and hypotheses: To profile the placental microbiota (microorganisms) and microbiome (collection of microbial genomes in an environment) in women with gestational diabetes (GDM) and study their relatio...

Background: CREB-regulated transcription coactivator 3 (CRTC3) is found in adipocytes where it may promote obesity through disruption of catecholamine signaling. CRTC3 knockout mice are resistant to diet-induced obesity.Objective and Hypotheses: The goals of the present study were i) to assess whether CRTC3 is a soluble protein secreted by adipose tissue ii) to explore whether CRTC3 is detectable and quantifiable in the circulation, and iii) to ...

Background: STK11 regulates glucose and lipid metabolism. In adult rats, excessive fat deposition and dysfunctional metabolism are related to low STK11 expression in adipose tissue. It is unknown if low STK11 expression in adipose tissue relates also to catch-up growth and fat deposition after intrauterine growth restriction.Objective and Hypotheses: To assess the expression of STK11 in adipose tissue and its relation ...

Background: The innate immune system is one of the first lines of host defense against invading pathogens. Pro-inflammatory α-defensins (mainly DEFA1–3) and anti-inflammatory bacterial/permeability-increasing protein (BPI) are antimicrobial peptides predominantly produced by neutrophils which have been recently related to obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk.Objective and hypotheses: The aim of our study was to test whether α-d...

Background: Muscle is key to glucose metabolism. Myogenesis is completed in early infancy, partly under the inhibitory control of myostatin, a myokine whose actions can be influenced by follistatin. Early lowering of myostatin actions is thus a potential strategy to reduce the risk for later diabetes.Objective and hypotheses: We performed a first screening of whether such lowering is among the natural mechanisms whereby some human infants augment their l...

Background: Increased uric acid is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease in obese adults and adolescents. The relationship between uric acid and atherosclerotic risk early in life is unknown.Objective and hypotheses: We investigated whether uric acid relates to carotid intima–media thickness (cIMT), a marker of preclinical atherosclerosis, in a rather large sample of school-age children and investigated the interaction of obesity sta...

Background: In rodents, fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), an endocrine member of the FGF family, is mainly produced in the liver and promotes glucose oxidation in several tissues; the circulating concentrations of FGF21 rise shortly after birth. In the human, the ontogeny of circulating FGF21 is essentially unknown.Objective and hypotheses: To assess whether there is also a neonatal surge of circulating FGF21 concen...

Background: Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) is the major sex steroid carrier protein. Its production is negatively regulated by insulin and monosaccharides. The concentration of SHBG increases between 16 and 27 weeks gestation and is negatively associated with pre-gestational BMI and weight gain during pregnancy. The link of SHBG with cardiovascular risk is poorly understood.Objective and hypotheses: In obese pregnant women, we aimed to study the ass...

Background: Despite the fact that pituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS) is a frequent finding in children with combined GH deficiency (CGHD), clinical data are still limited and the growth response to GH treatment has not been evaluated in comparison with CGDH with a normal stalk.Objective and hypotheses: To report the clinical and hormonal findings and evaluate the short term growth response to GH in Belgian children with congenital non-syndromat...