ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology

Nature. 2022;602(7898):632-8. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-04408-7.PubMed ID: 35140404Brief summary: This study in the fruit-fly, Drosophila melanogaster, identified a novel gut-derived, nutrient-specific neuropeptide hormone, ‘Diuretic hormone 31’ (Dh31), which triggers the insects to switch their behaviour from feeding to courtship and reproduction.Romantic di...

To read the full abstract: Diabetes Care. 2019 Aug;42(8):1473–1480. PMID: 31332028Maternal obesity and gestational diabetes (GDM) increase the risk of offspring developing childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes. The underlying mechanisms and possible neuronal pathways are unknown but might involve changes in the hypothalamic structure and function. Novel non-invasive imaging te...

To read the full abstract: Endocrinology vol. 161,2 (2020): bqz041. doi: https://academic.oup.com/endo/article/161/2/bqz041/5698115This mouse study demonstrates the influence of maternal nutrition during lactation on offspring gut microbiota and its consequences on metabolism and puberty timing. Childhood obesity is a risk factor for the deve...

To read the full abstract: Elife 2019;8:e43999.Two populations of Kisspeptin neurons are described in the hypothalamus. One population is located in the rostral part of the hypothalamus (the anteroventral periventricular nucleus, AVPV); the other is in the arcuate nucleus (ARC). The major difference between these populations is the opposing effects of 17b-estradiol (E2) on Kiss1...

Abstract: Endocrinology. 2018 Mar 1;159(3):1469–1478.In brief: In this article, a combination of microdissection, miroRNA profiling and transfection studies identify 3 microRNAs that are highly expressed in the proliferative zone and appear to be down-stream mediators of PTHrP signaling in the growth plate.Comment: In the growth plate, P...

To read the full abstract: NeuroImage 2017; 159: 236-247The results of this study suggest that, compared to adolescents with a low risk, lean adolescents with a high familial obesity risk show a weaker activation of neural systems subserving attentional self-regulation in response to food-denoting words. These same changes were found in overweight or obese adolescents. It is interestin...

To read the full abstract: Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2017;8:170Increasing sedentary behaviours and availability of high energy dense processed foods are the obvious culprits to explain the trends towards more overweight and obese populations around the world. However, we should remember that many other hypotheses are proposed, including higher ambient room temperatures due to ce...

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...

Nat Med. 2021 Dec;27(12):2104-2107. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34887578/Brief Summary: This study used single-cell transcriptomic analyses to generate a cell atlas of the human fetal and neonatal small intestine. Notably, the authors identified a subset of fetal enteroendocrine K/L cells (named FIKL) that express high levels of insulin and other beta cell genes.T...

To read the full abstract: J Clin Invest 2020;130(4):2001–16.In this study, Perry et al used their well-established animal model of fasted rats to unravel how feeding induces hyperthermia and energy expenditure.They showed that intracerebroventricular injection of leptin normalized fasting induced low plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine levels and body temperat...