Wednesday, 27th August The Annual Scientific Meeting of the Endocrine Society of Australia and the Society for Reproductive Biology 2014

In an attempt to better manage overweight and obesity to help prevent diabetes and other diseases, there is much focus on reducing body weight, body fat and the risk of metabolic disease, with little attention to possible long-term adverse effects of weight loss interventions. However, with the expansion of obesity in all age groups in Australia and other countries, as well as increasing life expectancy, it is important to consider potential long-term effects of diet-induced weight loss and energy restriction. Of particular concern are the potential adverse effects of these obesity interventions on neuroendocrine status and body composition.

Energy deficit in lean or obese animals or humans stimulates appetite and reduces energy expenditure, thereby contributing to weight regain. Often overlooked in obesity interventions, however, is the effect of energy restriction on neuroendocrine status, and the impact this could have on body composition and strength.

This breakfast session covers hypothalamic pathways that could influence bone mass and muscle strength during diet-induced weight loss in overweight or obese humans and animals, notably via effects on circulating concentrations of hormones such as peptide YY or cortisol. It also highlights gaps in current knowledge and ideas for future research efforts.

As our population becomes increasingly obese, from a younger age, with more people using weight management strategies for longer, this line of enquiry could guard against inadvertent increases in frailty, fractures and loss of independence in our ageing population.

Topics covered:         

• Effects of energy restriction on neuroendocrine status in overweight or obese animals and humans.
• Effects of diet-induced weight loss on bone mass or muscle strength in overweight or obese adults.
• Mechanisms by which neuropeptides or hormones that regulate appetite and glucose homeostasis regulate bone mass in mice.

Speakers:

 Assoc Prof Amanda Salis and team (Ms Jessica Zibellini, Ms Amy D Nguyen)

• Dissecting the genetic basis of inherited adrenocortical failure - Adrian Clark

• Cholesterol in oocytes is required for embryogenesis and membrane functional domains in blastocysts - Siew Leng Wong
• Formation of the trophectodermal layer in the mouse blastocyst requires increased global CpG methylation of the genome. - Yan Li
• MALDI Imaging Mass spectrometry of diapause and reactivated endometrium of Macropus eugenii (tammar wallaby)  - Florine Cynthia Martin
• Relationship between mitochondrial DNA haplotype and litter size in pigs - Tesha Tsai

• Combined parental obesity negatively affects mouse preimplantation embryo kinetics and quality - Bethany Finger
• A male offspring sub-fertility phenotype induced by a mouse model of paternal obesity is exacerbated by the same obesogenic diet - Tod Fullston
• Macronutrient balance, reproductive potential and lifespan in ageing mice - Samantha M Solon-Biet
• Diabetes alters the epigenetic landscape of the oocyte and early embryo. - Hannah M Brown

• Chronically reduced inhibin production is associated with age-related decline in Sertoli and Leydig cell function in mice. - Catherine Itman
• TGFβ, RA, WNT and Hedgehog signalling pathways: potential for crosstalk in driving testicular germ cell tumour cell fate decisions - Julia C Young
• Optimal expression of the Sertoli cell androgen receptor is critical for male fertility - Charles Allan
• The Serine/Theonine Kinase 35 (Stk35) allele locus encodes both a coding mRNA and a long non-coding RNA - Penny Whiley

• Mineralocorticoid receptors: cardiac fibrosis, metabolism and inflammation. - Morag J Young
• New insights into signaling at the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor - Patrick Sexton
• The melanocortin 2 receptor accessory proteins - Adrian Clark

• The genomic landscape of phaeochromocytoma - Richard Tothill
• Molecular imaging of neuroendocrine tumours - David A Pattison
• New management paradigms - Nick Pavlakis

• Manufacturing oocytes and sperm from human stem cells: just how promiscuous are cells in vitro? - Gerald Schatten

• Regulation and actions of the activins in adult testicular function - Mark Hedger
• Peculiar features of GDF9 and BMP15 regulation of oocyte quality - Robert Gilchrist
• Does anti-Müllerian hormone retard and shape the development of the male brain? - Ian McLennan

• Vitamin D in muscle - Jenny Gunton
• The implications of vitamin d metabolism and activity in bone  - Paul Anderson
• Vitamin D and immunoregulation: Are there tissue-specific effects with physiologically-relevant vitamin D?   - Shelley Gorman

• Low Vitamin D diet and the outcome in male C57Bl/6 mice - Kuan Minn Cha
• Identification of SOX9 enhancers disrupted in isolated disorders of sex development - Vincent Harley
• Circulating IGF1 and IGF2 and SNP genotypes in pregnant and non-pregnant women and men. - Kathy L Gatford
• Growth restriction reduces offspring plasma leptin concentrations in the absence of changes to amniotic fluid and maternal plasma leptin - Deanne H Hryciw
• Differential effects of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-6 (IGFBP-6) on migration of two ovarian cancer cell lines - Leon Bach
• Assessment of ovarian cancer spheroid invasion of mesothelial cells in real time:  profiling the molecular signature of the invasive interface. - Kaye L Stenvers

• Collateral damage: endocrine casualties from cancer treatments - David Chipps
• Bone effects of endocrine cancer treatment - Mathis Grossmann
• Protection and preservation of fertility for young women with cancer or other conditions which threaten female fertility - Kate Stern

• Rapid Genomic modelling using Zebrafish – TALENs and CRISPRs - Daniel Hesselson

• Ovarian sensitivity to gonadotrophins is increased by passive immunization against leptin - James R McFarlane
• The role of in-utero hyperandrogenism and the androgen receptor in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome - Stephanie Eid
• Understanding the mechanisms underlying breakthrough bleeding in progestin only contraceptive users - Jemma Evans
• Investigating the contribution of altered metabolic gene expression in obese Kiss1r KO mice - Julie-Ann P De Bond
• Relaxin-deficiency results in increased angiogenic gene expression in the uterus of early pregnant mice. - Sarah A Marshall
• The Mineralocorticoid Receptor plays a role in Mammary Tissue Development - Ann E Drummond

14:00 Introduction S Andrikopoulos

14:05 The art of scientific writing P Ebeling

14:20 The peer review process D Wilhelm

14:35 Responding to reviewer comments J Greenfield

14:50 Publishing ethics: Fabrication, Falsification and Plagiarism A Clark

15:05 Questions and discussion

• Paternal transmission of metabolic and cardio-renal dysfunction to offspring born to a growth restricted father - Mary E Wlodek
• Influence of maternal stress during pregnancy in low birth weight females on F2 male bone outcomes - Kristina Anevska
• Pre-weaning growth hormone treatment reverses programming effects in offspring following maternal undernutrition - Minglan Li
• GLP-1 receptor agonist Exendin-4 ameliorates oxidative stress and inflammation in offspring’s kidneys induced by maternal obesity  - Sarah Glastras
• Influence of uteroplacental insufficiency on blood pressure and arterial wall stiffness in first and second generation aged male rats. - Jean N Cheong
• Growth restriction and increased susceptibility to cardiovascular disease in offspring born from dams of advanced maternal age - Alison S Care

• Microbiome actions in the response to bariatric surgery - John Jorgensen
• Diet, metabolites, and ‘western lifestyle’ inflammatory diseases - Charles Mackay
• Food, microbes and you – what you can learn from your poo - Andrew Holmes

• How the central melanocortin neurons control peripheral blood glucose.  - Stephanie Simonds
• Acute inhibition of casein kinase 1δ/ε rapidly resets central and peripheral clock gene rhythms - Michael J Boden
• Differential roles of central and peripheral α-melanocyte stimulating hormone in transient hyperglycemic mice - Weiyi Chen
• Loss of the peripheral molecular clock blunts the cardiac response to mineralocorticoid induced cardiovascular disease - Elizabeth K Fletcher
• Central stimulation of GH secretion by testosterone in men is mediated by aromatisation to oestrogen - Vita Birzniece
• Electrophysiological and pharmacological profile of Gonadotropin Inhibitory Hormone-expressing neurons in the rat. - Jack T Pryor

• Sex steroid levels in chronic kidney disease, dialysis and kidney transplant recipients - Mathis Grossmann
• Higher bone remodelling rates are associated with reduced diabetes risk and lower estradiol concentrations in older men. - Bu B Yeap
• Serum Activin A, B and follistatin levels provide novel markers of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) patients.  - David de Kretser
• Ipilimumab-induced hypophysitis in patients with metastatic melanoma: A novel form of autoimmune pituitary disease - Arianne Sweeting
• Serum testosterone and dihydrotestosterone concentrations are associated with lung function in men from the Busselton Health Study. - Shalini Mohan
• Metreleptin improves metabolic and hepatic endpoints in the treatment of non-HAART associated lipodystrophy syndromes: a meta-analysis into the effects of leptin replacement therapy. - Alexander J Rodriguez

2:00-2:15         Dr Kelly Walton (MIMR-PHI): “Generating specific TGF-b superfamily antagonists”

2:15-2:30         Dr Paul Gregorevic (Baker IDI): "Exploring Bone Morphogenetic Protein signalling as a positive regulator of skeletal muscle in health and disease"

2:30-2:45         Prof Frank Lovicu (University of Sydney): "Regulation of TGF-b for maintenance of lens and prevention of cataract."

2:45-3:00         Prof Ray Rodgers (Robinson Research Institute): “TGF-b and polycystic ovary syndrome”

3:00-3:15         Dr Phillip Kantharidis (Baker IDI): “TGF-b regulated microRNA in diabetic nephropathy”

3:15-3:30         Alistair Cole (PhD Student, University of Melbourne): “The Role of BMP Signalling in Oligodendrocyte Differentiation and Myelin Repair”

5 min break

3:35-3:50         Prof Peter Koopman (University of Queensland): “Nodal signalling in male germ cell development and testicular cancer”

3:50-4:00         Prof Kate Loveland (Monash University): “Hanging drop cultures reveal activin regulation of a key signalling molecule in human testicular germ cell tumours”

4:00-4:15         Dr Kaye Stenvers (MIMR-PHI): “TGFBR3 in reproductive development and cancer”

4:15-4:30         Dr Hitesh Peshavariya (Centre for Eye Research Australia): “Transforming growth factor-β1 requires NADPH oxidase-derived redox signalling for neovascularization”

4:30-4:45         Dr Hong-Jian Zhu (University of Melbourne): “Double edged sword: TGF-b signalling in breast cancer metastasis and implication in targeted therapy”

4:30-4:45         Prof David de Kretser (MIMR-PHI/Monash University): “The potential uses of follistatin in organ transplantation”

4:45-5:00         Dr Vicky Tsai (St Vincent’s Centre for Applied Medical Research): “MIC-1/GDF15, role in physiological and pathological regulation of appetite and body weight”

• "Reproduction - it's all inside your Head" - Iain Clarke