H. Burger, E. Dudley, D. Robertson, L. Dennerstein
The menopause is the permanent cessation of menstruation resulting from the loss of ovarian follicular activity. It is heralded by the menopausal transition, a period when the endocrine, biological, and clinical features of approaching menopause begin. A common initial marker is the onset of menstrual irregularity. The biology underlying the transition to menopause includes central neuroendocrine changes as well as changes within the ovary, the most striking of which is a profound decline in follicle numbers. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is an established indirect marker of follicular activity. In studies of groups of women, its concentration, particularly in the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, begins to increase some years before there are any clinical indications of approaching menopause. The rise in FSH is the result of declining levels of inhibin B (INH-B), a dimeric protein that reflects the fall in ovarian follicle numbers, with or without any change in the ability of the lining granulosa cells to secrete INH-B. Estradiol levels remain relatively unchanged or tend to rise with age until the onset of the transition and are usually well preserved until the late perimenopause, presumably in response to the elevated FSH levels. During the transition, hormone levels frequently vary markedly - hence, measures of FSH and estradiol are unreliable guides to menopausal status. Concentrations of testosterone have been reported to fall by about 50% during reproductive life, between the ages of 20 and 40. They change little during the transition and, after menopause, may even rise. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEAS, its sulphate, on the other hand, decline with age, without any specific influence of the menopause. Symptoms of the menopause can be interpreted as resulting primarily from the profound fall in estradiol, occurring over a 3- to 4-year period around final menses, a fall that presumably contributes importantly to the beginning, in the late perimenopause, of loss of bone mineral density.
{"title":"Hormonal changes in the menopause transition.","authors":"H. Burger, E. Dudley, D. Robertson, L. Dennerstein","doi":"10.1210/RP.57.1.257","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1210/RP.57.1.257","url":null,"abstract":"The menopause is the permanent cessation of menstruation resulting from the loss of ovarian follicular activity. It is heralded by the menopausal transition, a period when the endocrine, biological, and clinical features of approaching menopause begin. A common initial marker is the onset of menstrual irregularity. The biology underlying the transition to menopause includes central neuroendocrine changes as well as changes within the ovary, the most striking of which is a profound decline in follicle numbers. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is an established indirect marker of follicular activity. In studies of groups of women, its concentration, particularly in the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, begins to increase some years before there are any clinical indications of approaching menopause. The rise in FSH is the result of declining levels of inhibin B (INH-B), a dimeric protein that reflects the fall in ovarian follicle numbers, with or without any change in the ability of the lining granulosa cells to secrete INH-B. Estradiol levels remain relatively unchanged or tend to rise with age until the onset of the transition and are usually well preserved until the late perimenopause, presumably in response to the elevated FSH levels. During the transition, hormone levels frequently vary markedly - hence, measures of FSH and estradiol are unreliable guides to menopausal status. Concentrations of testosterone have been reported to fall by about 50% during reproductive life, between the ages of 20 and 40. They change little during the transition and, after menopause, may even rise. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEAS, its sulphate, on the other hand, decline with age, without any specific influence of the menopause. Symptoms of the menopause can be interpreted as resulting primarily from the profound fall in estradiol, occurring over a 3- to 4-year period around final menses, a fall that presumably contributes importantly to the beginning, in the late perimenopause, of loss of bone mineral density.","PeriodicalId":21099,"journal":{"name":"Recent progress in hormone research","volume":"26 1","pages":"257-75"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2002-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83232283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
D. McDonnell, Caroline Connor, A. Wijayaratne, Ching-Yi Chang, J. Norris
The term selective estrogen receptor modulators describes a group of pharmaceuticals that function as estrogen receptor (ER) agonists in some tissues but that oppose estrogen action in others. Although the name for this class of drugs has been adopted only recently, the concept is not new, as compounds exhibiting tissue-selective ER agonist/antagonist properties have been around for nearly 40 years. What is new is the idea that it may be possible to capitalize on the paradoxical activities of these drugs and develop them as target organ-selective ER agonists for the treatment of osteoporosis and other estrogenopathies. This realization has provided the impetus for research in this area, the progress of which is discussed in this review.
{"title":"Definition of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the tissue-selective agonist/antagonist activities of selective estrogen receptor modulators.","authors":"D. McDonnell, Caroline Connor, A. Wijayaratne, Ching-Yi Chang, J. Norris","doi":"10.1210/RP.57.1.295","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1210/RP.57.1.295","url":null,"abstract":"The term selective estrogen receptor modulators describes a group of pharmaceuticals that function as estrogen receptor (ER) agonists in some tissues but that oppose estrogen action in others. Although the name for this class of drugs has been adopted only recently, the concept is not new, as compounds exhibiting tissue-selective ER agonist/antagonist properties have been around for nearly 40 years. What is new is the idea that it may be possible to capitalize on the paradoxical activities of these drugs and develop them as target organ-selective ER agonists for the treatment of osteoporosis and other estrogenopathies. This realization has provided the impetus for research in this area, the progress of which is discussed in this review.","PeriodicalId":21099,"journal":{"name":"Recent progress in hormone research","volume":"1 1","pages":"295-316"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2002-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82950042","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
O. Conneely, B. Mulac‐Jeričević, F. DeMayo, J. Lydon, B. O’Malley
The steroid hormone progesterone plays a central role in the reproductive events associated with pregnancy establishment and maintenance. Physiological effects of progesterone are mediated by interaction of the hormone with specific intracellular progesterone receptors (PRs) that are expressed as two protein isoforms, PR-A and PR-B. Both proteins arise from the same gene and are members of the nuclear receptor superfamily of transcription factors. Since these two isoforms were identified in the early 1970s, extensive controversy has existed regarding the selective contributions of the individual PR proteins to the physiological functions of progesterone. During the past decade, significant progress has been made in this regard using two complimentary approaches. First, analysis of the structural and functional relationships of each isoform using in vitro systems has generated compelling evidence to support the conclusion that PR-A and PR-B have different transcription activation properties when liganded to progesterone. Second, the advent of gene-targeting approaches to introduce subtle mutations into the mouse genome has facilitated the evaluation of the significance of observations made in vitro in a physiological context. Selective ablation of PR-A and PR-B proteins in mice using these technologies has allowed us to address the spatiotemporal expression and contribution of the individual PR isoforms to the pleiotropic reproductive activities of progesterone. Analysis of the phenotypic consequences of these mutations on female reproductive function has provided proof of concept that the distinct transcriptional responses to PR-A and PR-B observed in cell-based transactivation assays are, indeed, reflected in an ability of the individual isoforms to elicit distinct, physiological responses to progesterone. In PR-A knockout mice, in which the expression of the PR-A isoform is selectively ablated (PRAKO), the PR-B isoform functions in a tissue-specific manner to mediate a subset of the reproductive functions of PRs. Ablation of PR-A does not affect responses of the mammary gland or thymus to progesterone but instead results in severe abnormalities in ovarian and uterine function, leading to female infertility. These tissue-selective activities of PR-B are due to this isoform's ability to regulate a subset of progesterone-responsive target genes in reproductive tissues rather than to differences in its spatiotemporal expression relative to the PR-A isoform. More recent studies using PR-B knockout (PRBKO) mice have shown that ablation of PR-B does not affect ovarian, uterine, or thymic responses to progesterone but rather results in reduced mammary ductal morphogenesis. Thus, PR-A is both necessary and sufficient to elicit the progesterone-dependent reproductive responses necessary for female fertility, while PR-B is required to elicit normal proliferative responses of the mammary gland to progesterone. This chapter will summarize recent progress in
{"title":"Reproductive functions of progesterone receptors.","authors":"O. Conneely, B. Mulac‐Jeričević, F. DeMayo, J. Lydon, B. O’Malley","doi":"10.1210/RP.57.1.339","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1210/RP.57.1.339","url":null,"abstract":"The steroid hormone progesterone plays a central role in the reproductive events associated with pregnancy establishment and maintenance. Physiological effects of progesterone are mediated by interaction of the hormone with specific intracellular progesterone receptors (PRs) that are expressed as two protein isoforms, PR-A and PR-B. Both proteins arise from the same gene and are members of the nuclear receptor superfamily of transcription factors. Since these two isoforms were identified in the early 1970s, extensive controversy has existed regarding the selective contributions of the individual PR proteins to the physiological functions of progesterone. During the past decade, significant progress has been made in this regard using two complimentary approaches. First, analysis of the structural and functional relationships of each isoform using in vitro systems has generated compelling evidence to support the conclusion that PR-A and PR-B have different transcription activation properties when liganded to progesterone. Second, the advent of gene-targeting approaches to introduce subtle mutations into the mouse genome has facilitated the evaluation of the significance of observations made in vitro in a physiological context. Selective ablation of PR-A and PR-B proteins in mice using these technologies has allowed us to address the spatiotemporal expression and contribution of the individual PR isoforms to the pleiotropic reproductive activities of progesterone. Analysis of the phenotypic consequences of these mutations on female reproductive function has provided proof of concept that the distinct transcriptional responses to PR-A and PR-B observed in cell-based transactivation assays are, indeed, reflected in an ability of the individual isoforms to elicit distinct, physiological responses to progesterone. In PR-A knockout mice, in which the expression of the PR-A isoform is selectively ablated (PRAKO), the PR-B isoform functions in a tissue-specific manner to mediate a subset of the reproductive functions of PRs. Ablation of PR-A does not affect responses of the mammary gland or thymus to progesterone but instead results in severe abnormalities in ovarian and uterine function, leading to female infertility. These tissue-selective activities of PR-B are due to this isoform's ability to regulate a subset of progesterone-responsive target genes in reproductive tissues rather than to differences in its spatiotemporal expression relative to the PR-A isoform. More recent studies using PR-B knockout (PRBKO) mice have shown that ablation of PR-B does not affect ovarian, uterine, or thymic responses to progesterone but rather results in reduced mammary ductal morphogenesis. Thus, PR-A is both necessary and sufficient to elicit the progesterone-dependent reproductive responses necessary for female fertility, while PR-B is required to elicit normal proliferative responses of the mammary gland to progesterone. This chapter will summarize recent progress in","PeriodicalId":21099,"journal":{"name":"Recent progress in hormone research","volume":"205 1","pages":"339-55"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2002-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72777327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Richards, D. Russell, S. Ochsner, M. Hsieh, K. H. Doyle, Allison E. Falender, Yuet K Lo, S. C. Sharma
The interactions of peptide and steroid hormone signaling cascades in the ovary are critical for follicular growth, ovulation, and luteinization. Although the pituitary gonadotropins follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) play key regulatory roles, their actions are also dependent on other peptide signaling pathways, including those stimulated by insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) family members (e.g., inhibin, activin, growth differentiation factor-9, bone morphogenic proteins), fibroblast growth factor, and Wnts (via Frizzled receptors). Each of these factors is expressed and acts in a cell-specific manner at defined stages of follicular growth. IGF-1, estrogen, and FSH comprise one major regulatory system. The Wnt/Frizzled pathways define other aspects relating to ovarian embryogenesis and possibly ovulation and luteinization. Likewise, the steroid receptors as well as orphan nuclear receptors and their ligands impact ovarian cell function. The importance of these multiple signaling cascades has been documented by targeted deletion of specific genes. For example, mice null for the LH-induced genes progesterone receptor (PR) and cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) fail to ovulate. Whereas PR appears to regulate the induction of novel proteases, COX-2 appears to regulate cumulus expansion. This review summarizes some new aspects of peptide and steroid hormone signaling in the rodent ovary.
{"title":"Novel signaling pathways that control ovarian follicular development, ovulation, and luteinization.","authors":"J. Richards, D. Russell, S. Ochsner, M. Hsieh, K. H. Doyle, Allison E. Falender, Yuet K Lo, S. C. Sharma","doi":"10.1210/RP.57.1.195","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1210/RP.57.1.195","url":null,"abstract":"The interactions of peptide and steroid hormone signaling cascades in the ovary are critical for follicular growth, ovulation, and luteinization. Although the pituitary gonadotropins follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) play key regulatory roles, their actions are also dependent on other peptide signaling pathways, including those stimulated by insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) family members (e.g., inhibin, activin, growth differentiation factor-9, bone morphogenic proteins), fibroblast growth factor, and Wnts (via Frizzled receptors). Each of these factors is expressed and acts in a cell-specific manner at defined stages of follicular growth. IGF-1, estrogen, and FSH comprise one major regulatory system. The Wnt/Frizzled pathways define other aspects relating to ovarian embryogenesis and possibly ovulation and luteinization. Likewise, the steroid receptors as well as orphan nuclear receptors and their ligands impact ovarian cell function. The importance of these multiple signaling cascades has been documented by targeted deletion of specific genes. For example, mice null for the LH-induced genes progesterone receptor (PR) and cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) fail to ovulate. Whereas PR appears to regulate the induction of novel proteases, COX-2 appears to regulate cumulus expansion. This review summarizes some new aspects of peptide and steroid hormone signaling in the rodent ovary.","PeriodicalId":21099,"journal":{"name":"Recent progress in hormone research","volume":"25 1","pages":"195-220"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2002-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74316204","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Over the past 20 years, it has been clearly documented that 1) polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has major metabolic sequelae related to insulin resistance and 2) insulin resistance plays an important role in the pathogenesis of the reproductive abnormalities of the disorder. Women with PCOS are at significantly increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Studies in isolated adipocytes and in cultured skin fibroblasts from PCOS women have demonstrated intrinsic postbinding defects in insulin-mediated glucose metabolism. In fibroblasts, the mitogenic pathway of insulin action is intact, consistent with a selective defect in insulin signaling. While PCOS skeletal muscle is resistant to insulin in vivo, cultured muscle cells have normal insulin sensitivity, consistent with a major role of extrinsic factors in producing insulin resistance in this tissue. Excessive serine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor or downstream signaling proteins may be involved in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance in PCOS. The putative serine kinase is extrinsic to the insulin receptor but its identity is unknown. The explanations for tissue-specific and signaling pathway-specific differences in insulin action in PCOS are unknown but may involve differential roles of insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 and IRS-2 in insulin signal transduction.
{"title":"Insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome: progress and paradoxes.","authors":"A. Venkatesan, Andrea Dunaif, Anne Corbould","doi":"10.1210/RP.56.1.295","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1210/RP.56.1.295","url":null,"abstract":"Over the past 20 years, it has been clearly documented that 1) polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has major metabolic sequelae related to insulin resistance and 2) insulin resistance plays an important role in the pathogenesis of the reproductive abnormalities of the disorder. Women with PCOS are at significantly increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Studies in isolated adipocytes and in cultured skin fibroblasts from PCOS women have demonstrated intrinsic postbinding defects in insulin-mediated glucose metabolism. In fibroblasts, the mitogenic pathway of insulin action is intact, consistent with a selective defect in insulin signaling. While PCOS skeletal muscle is resistant to insulin in vivo, cultured muscle cells have normal insulin sensitivity, consistent with a major role of extrinsic factors in producing insulin resistance in this tissue. Excessive serine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor or downstream signaling proteins may be involved in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance in PCOS. The putative serine kinase is extrinsic to the insulin receptor but its identity is unknown. The explanations for tissue-specific and signaling pathway-specific differences in insulin action in PCOS are unknown but may involve differential roles of insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 and IRS-2 in insulin signal transduction.","PeriodicalId":21099,"journal":{"name":"Recent progress in hormone research","volume":"26 1","pages":"295-308"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2001-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79008498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Avruch, J. Kyriakis, Zhijun Luol, Demetrios Vavvas, Xian-feng Zhang
A continuing focus of our work has been an effort to understand the signal transduction pathways through which insulin achieves its cellular actions. In the mid-1970s, we and others observed that insulin promoted an increase in Ser/Thr phosphorylation of a subset of cellular proteins. This finding was unanticipated, inasmuch as nearly all of the actions of insulin then known appeared to result from protein dephosphorylation. In fact, nearly 15 years elapsed before any physiologic response to insulin attributable to stimulated (Ser/Thr) phosphorylation was established. Nevertheless, based on the hypothesis that insulin-stimulated Ser/Thr phosphorylation reflected the activation of protein (Ser/Thr) kinases downstream of the insulin receptor, we sought to detect and purify these putative, insulin-responsive protein (Ser/Thr) kinases. Our effort was based on the presumption that an understanding of the mechanism for their activation would provide an entry into the biochemical reactions through which the insulin receptor activated its downstream effectors. To a degree that, in retrospect, is surprising, this goal was accomplished, much in the way originally envisioned. It is now well known that receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) recruit a large network of protein (Ser/Thr) kinases to execute their cellular programs. The first of these insulin-activated protein kinase networks to be fully elucidated was the Ras-Raf-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. This pathway is a central effector of cellular differentiation in development; moreover, its inappropriate and continuous activation provides a potent promitogenic force and is a very common occurrence in human cancers. Conversely, this pathway contributes minimally, if at all, to insulin's program of metabolic regulation. Nevertheless, the importance of the Ras-MAPK pathway in metazoan biology and human malignancies has impelled us to an ongoing analysis of the functions and regulation of Ras and Raf. This chapter will summarize briefly the way in which work from this and other laboratories on insulin signaling led to the discovery of the mammalian MAP kinase cascade and, in turn, to the identification of unique role of the Raf kinases in RTK activation of this protein (Ser/Thr) kinase cascade. We will then review in more detail current understanding of the biochemical mechanism through which the Ras proto-oncogene, in collaboration with the 14-3-3 protein and other protein kinases, initiates activation of the Raf kinase.
{"title":"Ras activation of the Raf kinase: tyrosine kinase recruitment of the MAP kinase cascade.","authors":"J. Avruch, J. Kyriakis, Zhijun Luol, Demetrios Vavvas, Xian-feng Zhang","doi":"10.1210/RP.56.1.127","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1210/RP.56.1.127","url":null,"abstract":"A continuing focus of our work has been an effort to understand the signal transduction pathways through which insulin achieves its cellular actions. In the mid-1970s, we and others observed that insulin promoted an increase in Ser/Thr phosphorylation of a subset of cellular proteins. This finding was unanticipated, inasmuch as nearly all of the actions of insulin then known appeared to result from protein dephosphorylation. In fact, nearly 15 years elapsed before any physiologic response to insulin attributable to stimulated (Ser/Thr) phosphorylation was established. Nevertheless, based on the hypothesis that insulin-stimulated Ser/Thr phosphorylation reflected the activation of protein (Ser/Thr) kinases downstream of the insulin receptor, we sought to detect and purify these putative, insulin-responsive protein (Ser/Thr) kinases. Our effort was based on the presumption that an understanding of the mechanism for their activation would provide an entry into the biochemical reactions through which the insulin receptor activated its downstream effectors. To a degree that, in retrospect, is surprising, this goal was accomplished, much in the way originally envisioned. It is now well known that receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) recruit a large network of protein (Ser/Thr) kinases to execute their cellular programs. The first of these insulin-activated protein kinase networks to be fully elucidated was the Ras-Raf-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. This pathway is a central effector of cellular differentiation in development; moreover, its inappropriate and continuous activation provides a potent promitogenic force and is a very common occurrence in human cancers. Conversely, this pathway contributes minimally, if at all, to insulin's program of metabolic regulation. Nevertheless, the importance of the Ras-MAPK pathway in metazoan biology and human malignancies has impelled us to an ongoing analysis of the functions and regulation of Ras and Raf. This chapter will summarize briefly the way in which work from this and other laboratories on insulin signaling led to the discovery of the mammalian MAP kinase cascade and, in turn, to the identification of unique role of the Raf kinases in RTK activation of this protein (Ser/Thr) kinase cascade. We will then review in more detail current understanding of the biochemical mechanism through which the Ras proto-oncogene, in collaboration with the 14-3-3 protein and other protein kinases, initiates activation of the Raf kinase.","PeriodicalId":21099,"journal":{"name":"Recent progress in hormone research","volume":"48 1","pages":"127-55"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2001-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86718141","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Menopause favors osteoporosis and obesity protects from it. In an attempt to decipher the molecular bases of these two well-known clinical observations, we hypothesized that they meant that bone remodeling, body weight, and reproduction are controlled by identical endocrine pathways. We used mouse genetics as a tool to translate these clinical observations into a molecular hypothesis. The ob/ob and db/db mice were valuable models, since two of the three functions thought to be co-regulated are affected in these mice: they are obese and hypogonadic. Surprisingly, given their hypogonadism, both mouse mutant strains have a high bone mass phenotype. Subsequent analysis of the mechanism leading to this high bone mass revealed that it was due to an increase of bone formation. All data collected indicate that, in vivo, leptin does not act directly on osteoblasts but rather through a central pathway following binding to its specific receptors located on hypothalamic nuclei. This result revealed that bone remodeling, like most other homeostatic functions, is under hypothalamic control. The nature of the signal downstream of the hypothalamus is unknown but current experiments are attempting to identify it.
{"title":"Leptin controls bone formation through a hypothalamic relay.","authors":"Gerard Karsenty","doi":"10.1210/RP.56.1.401","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1210/RP.56.1.401","url":null,"abstract":"Menopause favors osteoporosis and obesity protects from it. In an attempt to decipher the molecular bases of these two well-known clinical observations, we hypothesized that they meant that bone remodeling, body weight, and reproduction are controlled by identical endocrine pathways. We used mouse genetics as a tool to translate these clinical observations into a molecular hypothesis. The ob/ob and db/db mice were valuable models, since two of the three functions thought to be co-regulated are affected in these mice: they are obese and hypogonadic. Surprisingly, given their hypogonadism, both mouse mutant strains have a high bone mass phenotype. Subsequent analysis of the mechanism leading to this high bone mass revealed that it was due to an increase of bone formation. All data collected indicate that, in vivo, leptin does not act directly on osteoblasts but rather through a central pathway following binding to its specific receptors located on hypothalamic nuclei. This result revealed that bone remodeling, like most other homeostatic functions, is under hypothalamic control. The nature of the signal downstream of the hypothalamus is unknown but current experiments are attempting to identify it.","PeriodicalId":21099,"journal":{"name":"Recent progress in hormone research","volume":"180 1","pages":"401-15"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2001-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80145215","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Recent advances in our understanding of the regulation of body weight, appetite, and metabolic rate have highlighted the role of the adipose-derived hormone leptin and its receptor as fundamental modulators of these processes. Investigations of the neural targets for leptin action--as well as characterization of the agouti obesity syndrome--have, in turn, led to the discovery of fundamental neural pathways involved in the central regulation of energy homeostasis. In particular, the central melanocortin system has been shown to regulate appetite and metabolic rate in rodents; mutations in this system have been demonstrated to result in obesity in humans. Overall, the melanocortin system appears to function as a bidirectional rheostat in the regulation of energy intake and expenditure in rodents and potentially in humans. The first section of this chapter will focus on the development of our understanding of melanocortin physiology in the context of obesity. In particular, recent data regarding the interplay between melanocortin and neuropeptide Y (NPY) signaling at a cellular level will be discussed. The following section will discuss the hypothesis that melanocortin signaling plays a role in pathological weight loss and hypermetabolism observed in murine cachexia models. The potential role of this system in integrating a variety of anorexic and cachexic signals, as well as the potential for its pharmacological manipulation in the treatment of human cachexia, will be discussed.
{"title":"Central melanocortins and the regulation of weight during acute and chronic disease.","authors":"D. Marks, R. Cone","doi":"10.1210/RP.56.1.359","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1210/RP.56.1.359","url":null,"abstract":"Recent advances in our understanding of the regulation of body weight, appetite, and metabolic rate have highlighted the role of the adipose-derived hormone leptin and its receptor as fundamental modulators of these processes. Investigations of the neural targets for leptin action--as well as characterization of the agouti obesity syndrome--have, in turn, led to the discovery of fundamental neural pathways involved in the central regulation of energy homeostasis. In particular, the central melanocortin system has been shown to regulate appetite and metabolic rate in rodents; mutations in this system have been demonstrated to result in obesity in humans. Overall, the melanocortin system appears to function as a bidirectional rheostat in the regulation of energy intake and expenditure in rodents and potentially in humans. The first section of this chapter will focus on the development of our understanding of melanocortin physiology in the context of obesity. In particular, recent data regarding the interplay between melanocortin and neuropeptide Y (NPY) signaling at a cellular level will be discussed. The following section will discuss the hypothesis that melanocortin signaling plays a role in pathological weight loss and hypermetabolism observed in murine cachexia models. The potential role of this system in integrating a variety of anorexic and cachexic signals, as well as the potential for its pharmacological manipulation in the treatment of human cachexia, will be discussed.","PeriodicalId":21099,"journal":{"name":"Recent progress in hormone research","volume":"34 1","pages":"359-75"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2001-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79975300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michael Roden, Krrr Falk Petersen, Gerald I. SHULMANtt
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has made noninvasive and repetitive measurements of human hepatic glycogen concentrations possible. Monitoring of liver glycogen in real-time mode has demonstrated that glycogen concentrations decrease linearly and that net hepatic glycogenolysis contributes only about 50 percent to glucose production during the early period of a fast. Following a mixed meal, hepatic glycogen represents approximately 20 percent of the ingested carbohydrates, while only about 10 percent of an intravenous glucose load is retained by the liver as glycogen. During mixed-meal ingestion, poorly controlled type 1 diabetic patients synthesize only about 30 percent of the glycogen stored in livers of nondiabetic humans studied under similar conditions. Reduced net glycogen synthesis can be improved but not normalized by short-term, intensified insulin treatment. A decreased increment in liver glycogen content following meals was also found in patients with maturity-onset diabetes of the young due to glucokinase mutations (MODY-2). In patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes, fasting hyperglycemia can be attributed mainly to increased rates of endogenous glucose production, which was found by 13C NMR to be due to increased rates of gluconeogenesis. Metformin treatment improved fasting hyperglycemia in these patients through a reduction in hepatic glucose production, which could be attributed to a decrease in gluconeogenesis. In conclusion, NMR spectroscopy has provided new insights into the pathogenesis of hyperglycemia in type 1, type 2, and MODY diabetes and offers the potential of providing new insights into the mechanism of action of novel antidabetic therapies.
{"title":"Nuclear magnetic resonance studies of hepatic glucose metabolism in humans.","authors":"Michael Roden, Krrr Falk Petersen, Gerald I. SHULMANtt","doi":"10.1210/RP.56.1.219","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1210/RP.56.1.219","url":null,"abstract":"Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has made noninvasive and repetitive measurements of human hepatic glycogen concentrations possible. Monitoring of liver glycogen in real-time mode has demonstrated that glycogen concentrations decrease linearly and that net hepatic glycogenolysis contributes only about 50 percent to glucose production during the early period of a fast. Following a mixed meal, hepatic glycogen represents approximately 20 percent of the ingested carbohydrates, while only about 10 percent of an intravenous glucose load is retained by the liver as glycogen. During mixed-meal ingestion, poorly controlled type 1 diabetic patients synthesize only about 30 percent of the glycogen stored in livers of nondiabetic humans studied under similar conditions. Reduced net glycogen synthesis can be improved but not normalized by short-term, intensified insulin treatment. A decreased increment in liver glycogen content following meals was also found in patients with maturity-onset diabetes of the young due to glucokinase mutations (MODY-2). In patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes, fasting hyperglycemia can be attributed mainly to increased rates of endogenous glucose production, which was found by 13C NMR to be due to increased rates of gluconeogenesis. Metformin treatment improved fasting hyperglycemia in these patients through a reduction in hepatic glucose production, which could be attributed to a decrease in gluconeogenesis. In conclusion, NMR spectroscopy has provided new insights into the pathogenesis of hyperglycemia in type 1, type 2, and MODY diabetes and offers the potential of providing new insights into the mechanism of action of novel antidabetic therapies.","PeriodicalId":21099,"journal":{"name":"Recent progress in hormone research","volume":"18 1","pages":"219-37"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2001-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87687033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Insulin resistance is a change in physiologic regulation such that a fixed dose of insulin causes less of an effect on glucose metabolism than occurs in normal individuals. The normal compensatory response to insulin resistance is an increase in insulin secretion that results in hyperinsulinemia. If the hyperinsulinemia is sufficient to overcome the insulin resistance, glucose regulation remains normal; if not, type 2 diabetes ensues. Associated with insulin resistance, however, is a cluster of other metabolic abnormalities involving body fat distribution, lipid metabolism, thrombosis and fibrinolysis, blood pressure regulation, and endothelial cell function. This cluster of abnormalities is referred to as the insulin resistance syndrome or the metabolic syndrome. It is causally related not only to the development of type 2 diabetes but also to cardiovascular disease. A major unresolved issue is whether there is a single underlying cause of this syndrome and, if so, what might it be? Several promising hypotheses have been proposed. There are some data to support the hypothesis that fetal malnutrition imprints on metabolic regulatory processes that, in later adult life, predispose to the development of the insulin resistance syndrome. Visceral obesity also has been a candidate for the cause of the syndrome. Whatever mechanism is ultimately found to be responsible, it will undoubtedly have both genetic and environmental components. Among the biochemical mediators that are likely to be responsible for the interference with insulin's effects on intermediary metabolism are free fatty acids and other products from adipose tissue. Recent data suggest that the substances stimulate serine phosphorylation of molecules involved in the initial steps of insulin action, thereby blocking the ability of these molecules to be tyrosine phosphorylated and initiate the subsequent steps of the insulin action cascade. The thiazolidinediones are a new class of agents that have been developed to treat type 2 diabetic patients. These drugs act as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) agonists. Following their binding to the receptor, the heterodimer molecule that contains the binding site is activated. The activated complex binds to the response elements of specific genes that regulate molecules that effect insulin action and lipid metabolism. These genes are either activated or inhibited. Specifically, the thiazolidinediones improve insulin action and decrease insulin resistance. The exact mechanism by which these agents decrease insulin resistance is not clear but they do decrease the elevated free fatty acid levels present in insulin-resistant patients and they appear to change the body distribution of adipose tissue. Treatment of insulin-resistant type 2 diabetic patients with thiazolidinediones not only improves glycemic control and decreases insulin resistance, it also improves many of the abnormalities that are part of the insulin resistance
{"title":"Insulin resistance and its treatment by thiazolidinediones.","authors":"Lebovitz He, Banerji Ma","doi":"10.1210/RP.56.1.265","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1210/RP.56.1.265","url":null,"abstract":"Insulin resistance is a change in physiologic regulation such that a fixed dose of insulin causes less of an effect on glucose metabolism than occurs in normal individuals. The normal compensatory response to insulin resistance is an increase in insulin secretion that results in hyperinsulinemia. If the hyperinsulinemia is sufficient to overcome the insulin resistance, glucose regulation remains normal; if not, type 2 diabetes ensues. Associated with insulin resistance, however, is a cluster of other metabolic abnormalities involving body fat distribution, lipid metabolism, thrombosis and fibrinolysis, blood pressure regulation, and endothelial cell function. This cluster of abnormalities is referred to as the insulin resistance syndrome or the metabolic syndrome. It is causally related not only to the development of type 2 diabetes but also to cardiovascular disease. A major unresolved issue is whether there is a single underlying cause of this syndrome and, if so, what might it be? Several promising hypotheses have been proposed. There are some data to support the hypothesis that fetal malnutrition imprints on metabolic regulatory processes that, in later adult life, predispose to the development of the insulin resistance syndrome. Visceral obesity also has been a candidate for the cause of the syndrome. Whatever mechanism is ultimately found to be responsible, it will undoubtedly have both genetic and environmental components. Among the biochemical mediators that are likely to be responsible for the interference with insulin's effects on intermediary metabolism are free fatty acids and other products from adipose tissue. Recent data suggest that the substances stimulate serine phosphorylation of molecules involved in the initial steps of insulin action, thereby blocking the ability of these molecules to be tyrosine phosphorylated and initiate the subsequent steps of the insulin action cascade. The thiazolidinediones are a new class of agents that have been developed to treat type 2 diabetic patients. These drugs act as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) agonists. Following their binding to the receptor, the heterodimer molecule that contains the binding site is activated. The activated complex binds to the response elements of specific genes that regulate molecules that effect insulin action and lipid metabolism. These genes are either activated or inhibited. Specifically, the thiazolidinediones improve insulin action and decrease insulin resistance. The exact mechanism by which these agents decrease insulin resistance is not clear but they do decrease the elevated free fatty acid levels present in insulin-resistant patients and they appear to change the body distribution of adipose tissue. Treatment of insulin-resistant type 2 diabetic patients with thiazolidinediones not only improves glycemic control and decreases insulin resistance, it also improves many of the abnormalities that are part of the insulin resistance","PeriodicalId":21099,"journal":{"name":"Recent progress in hormone research","volume":"40 1","pages":"265-294"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2001-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86867054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}