Characterization of circulating steroids and endocannabinoids levels in obese subjects by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry


Autoria(s): Belluomo, Ilaria
Contribuinte(s)

Franceschi, Claudio

Data(s)

16/05/2013

Resumo

Nowadays obesity can be defined as a global epidemic. The precise identification of circulating biomarkers involved in this pathology could be essential to early diagnose potential co-morbidities and to better address the development of future therapeutic strategies. Published evidences show that circulating steroid hormones and endocannabinoids might have a role in the physiopathology of obesity; however, a precise and reliable quantification of these molecules is still lacking. In the first part of the present thesis, we developed a sensitive, specific and accurate quantification method for nine steroid hormones using a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) system. This method has been used first for a comparative study with immunoassays, currently used in the clinical practice to quantify these molecules and then to redefine circulating reference intervals in healthy subjects. Furthermore, we measured circulating steroid hormones in three groups of subjects: normo-weight, over-weight and obese, defining different steroid hormones profiles depending on the obesity state. The role of circulating endocannabinoids in humans is still unclear, however there are several evidences concerning their involvement in obesity. In the second part of the thesis, we determined changes of circulating endocannabinoids in obese patients after a weight loss induced by bariatric surgery, currently the most effective long-term treatment for obesity, using LC/MS-MS. We measured basal and dynamic endocannabinoids plasma levels in 12 patients with severe obesity before, one month after and six months after the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass intervention, currently one of the most performed types of bariatric surgery. All together the findings illustrated in this thesis project will help better define the role of steroid hormones and endocannabinoids in the framework of obesity in humans and the role that each type of molecule might have in its pathophysiology.

Formato

application/pdf

Identificador

http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/5243/1/Belluomo_Ilaria_tesi.pdf

urn:nbn:it:unibo-10156

Belluomo, Ilaria (2013) Characterization of circulating steroids and endocannabinoids levels in obese subjects by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry , [Dissertation thesis], Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna. Dottorato di ricerca in Oncologia e patologia sperimentale: progetto n. 2 "Patologia sperimentale" <http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/view/dottorati/DOT361/>, 25 Ciclo. DOI 10.6092/unibo/amsdottorato/5243.

Idioma(s)

en

Publicador

Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna

Relação

http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/5243/

Direitos

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Palavras-Chave #MED/13 Endocrinologia
Tipo

Tesi di dottorato

NonPeerReviewed