Consequences of developmental and adult neuroendocrine disruption to the hypothalamus and pituitary
Year: 2021
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The endocrine system is a complex, interconnected web of communication that uses hormones as chemical messengers to allow distinct and geographically distant organs to coordinate physiological homeostasis.The hypothalamus and pituitary are the master regulators of this process.Healthy physiology relies on the hypothalamus and pituitary to respond appropriately to signals communicated by other endocrine organs.When external stimuli influence the development or behavior of neuroendocrine tissue, it can lead to deleterious health consequences.Often, associations between environmental exposures and negative health outcomes are reported in epidemiological data while the question of how they are causally connected remains unclear.This is the case with the two exposures on which this work expands: gestational diabetes mellitus and iodoacetic acid.Using in vivo and in vitro models, we observed the impact these exposures have on the hypothalamus and pituitary to better understand how they lead to endocrine disruption.Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), a transient diabetes during pregnancy, has frequently been linked to the development of obesity in offspring, beginning in childhood and continuing into adulthood.The hypothalamus is the master regulator of energy homeostasis and despite the opportunity for an in utero exposure to alter the development of this region, relatively little is known about if or how it does so.The arcuate nucleus (ARC) balances feeding behavior through two competing neuron populations that either promote hunger or satiety.The ARC is bordered by a pool of
Author: Gonzalez, Rachel
Language: English
Subfield: Reproductive Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6980725159