ESPE Abstracts

Background: Progranulin (PGRN) displays pleiotropic biological functions including on early embryogenesis, cell proliferation, lysosomal or neuronal functioning and wound repair, and has been proposed as a biomarker for metabolic diseases. Increased PGRN levels have been reported in type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and in preeclampsia associated to placental dysfunction. However, the ontogeny of PGRN concentrations and the potential value of P...

Purpose: Low areal bone mineral density (aBMD) is a well-known consequence of anorexia nervosa (AN). However, the impact of reduced energy expenditure on bone metabolism is unknown. This study assessed the effects of energy deficiency on bone remodelling and its potential interactions with glucose homeostasis and adipose tissue-derived hormones in AN, a clinical model for reduced energy expenditure.Methods: 50 women with AN and 50 age-matched controls (m...

Background: Hypospadias affects approximately 1/200 newborn males. Based on the testicular dysgenesis syndrome hypothesis, some may be suspected of having persistent testicular dysfunction later in life. Few clinical data currently support this hypothesis.Methods: Cross-sectional assessment of hypospadias cases (n = 193) and controls (n = 50), aged 16-21 years, recruited at Ghent University Hospital and...

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) followed by a rapid postnatal catch-up in weight predisposes individuals to a central distribution of body fat, which is reverted by metformin. Growth-and-differentiation-factor-15 (GDF15) plays an important role in the regulation of energy homeostasis, reducing food intake and lowering body weight. We aimed to assess whether GDF15 concentrations are raised by long-term metformin treatment in LBW/catch-up girls with precociou...

Background: Epigenetic alterations due to maternal obesity may contribute to an increased metabolic risk in the offspring. IRS1 has a critical role in insulin signalling and its methylation has been previously associated with body fat distribution and glucose metabolism in human adipose tissue. The relationship between IRS1 methylation in birth tissues and obesity parameters in the offspring is unknown.Objective: To iden...

Background: Low vitamin D levels are prevalent in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and are associated with increased risk for insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Little is known about associations between vitamin D levels and markers of metabolic syndrome in incident T1DM in children. The aim of our study was to analyze associations between D vitamin levels and metabolic markers in newly onset T1DM pe...

Background: Growth-and-differentiation factor-15 (GDF15) is a regulator of energy homeostasis, and is used as biomarker of several pathological states.Objectives: To assess longitudinally GDF15 concentrations in a cohort of infants born either appropriate- (AGA, n=70) or small-for-gestational-age (SGA, n=33), the latter known to be at increased risk for central adiposity and metabolic alteration...

Introduction: Maternal caloric restriction during gestation leads to offspring’s metabolic programming through epigenetic changes, which increase the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases in adulthood.Objectives: To study in a swine animal model: i) DNA methylation changes associated with caloric restriction during gestation in the adipose tissue of the offspring; and ii) the reversibility of these changes by metformin treatment.<p class="a...

Background: Early catch-up growth, between birth and age two years, in infants born small-for-gestational-age (SGA) is a risk factor for the development of cardiometabolic diseases in adulthood. The basis and mechanisms underpinning catch-up growth in SGA newborns are unknown.Objectives: We aimed to investigate the catch-up predictive ability of cord blood miRNAs in SGA infants.Methods: MicroRNA PCR Human Panels were used to study ...

Background: The placenta plays a key role in regulating fatty acid (FA) transport from maternal to fetal circulation. An unfavourable FA profile in the placenta, reflecting an inadequate nutritional status during pregnancy, may cause changes in placental DNA methylation and negatively affect fetal growth and metabolic health of the offspring.Objectives: We aimed to study the association of an unfavourable placental FA profile with placental DNA methylati...