ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology

Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2021 May 1;527:111218. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2021.111218. PMID: 33636254This study used a high fat and high sucrose diet to generate obese mice. The offspring of these mice showed activation of the unfolding protein response and the heat-shock response in the hypothalamus as early as weaning. This was associated with malformed paraventricular nucleus axonal projections ...

Brief summary: The authors used data from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 to examine the incidence, disability adjusted life years and mortality of early onset type 2 diabetes T2D) in those 15–39 years of age. This showed that early onset T2D is a growing global health problem in adolescents and young adults, particularly in low-middle- and middle-income countries.Early onset of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with longer lifetime exposure hyp...

Nat Commun. 2020;11:4807. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-18497-3.This interesting paper illustrates the potential of machine learning to improve the sensitivity and specificity of routine techniques in clinical practice if large cohorts for training and validation of models are used. Yu et al. present a transfer learning model (machine learning approach to solve research problems by r...

Epigenomics. 2021 Aug;13(15):1221-1230. doi: 10.2217/epi-2021-0096. PMID: 34337972.Brief Summary: This case cohort study assessed whether epigenetic factors explain the link between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and macrosomia. Epigenetic changes in the MEST gene were associated with both GDM and macrosomia.GDM leads to neonatal macrosomia and in the long-t...

To read the full abstract: Nat Genet. 2018 Mar;50(3):432-442Maternal obesity is associated with poor outcomes across the reproductive spectrum including infertility, increased time to pregnancy, early pregnancy loss, congenital abnormalities and neonatal complications. Adverse effects are detectable as early as the oocyte and preimplantation embryo stage, and that these early effects may cont...

To read the full abstract: Cell 2017, Volume 171, Issue 2Here, the group of Jerrold Olefsky identified adipose tissue macrophages as important sources of microRNAs regulating metabolic processes not only within the adipose tissue depot, but also in an endocrine way in other distant tissues. The application of exosomes derived from ATMs isolated from obese mice caused insulin resistance both ...

Cell Metabolism 2022;34(5):667-80.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2022.03.006Brief Summary: In preclinical models and a phase 1 trial, a powerful new lipid small molecule was shown to act through a mechanism distinct from those of known hypolipidemic agents. Targeting HNF-1α may be a new therapeutic strategy.Comment: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is the most common...

To read the full abstract: Genome Res 2018;28:423–431The discovery of a mummified humanoid female skeleton on a shelf in a building in La Noria, Chile in 2003 created enormous scientific and popular interest. Its highly unusual appearance included a length of only 6 inches despite a bone age of 6–7 years old, marked turricephaly (a cone-shaped top of the skull), and reduced number...

In Brief: These authors studied liver-specific SIRT2 knockout mice to examine how loss of hepatocyte SIRT2 (Sirtuin 2) prevents bone loss in aged mice. Hepatocyte SIRT2 deficiency led to upregulation of Leucine rich α2 glycoprotein (LRG1) in hepatocyte-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) which inhibited osteoclastogenesis in bone marrow.Commentary: Liver-bone communication has been implicated in bone homeostasis. P...

In Brief: The authors conducted genome sequencing on 151 mother–father–offspring trios from 68 vertebrate animal species in order to estimate and compare germline mutation rates (GMRs). They found a 40-fold variation in GMR per generation between the species. Higher GMRs were observed in species that have a longer generation time, older age at puberty and fewer offspring per generation.Comment: Mutations in germline DNA during gametogenesis are...