Aims of the Federation

The International Federation of Comparative Endocrinological Societies (IFCES) is an umbrella organization whose primary function is to promote and advance research in comparative endocrinology, neuroendocrinology and neurobiology, and to facilitate the collaboration and exchange of ideas among scientists worldwide.

IFCES was formed in 1989 at the XI International Symposium on Comparative-Endocrinology, Malaga, Spain by an international group of comparative endocrinologists. The founding societies of IFCES are the Asia and Oceania Society for Comparative Endocrinology (AOSCE), the European Society for Comparative Endocrinology (ESCE), the Indian Society for Comparative Endocrinology (ISCE), the Japan Society for Comparative Endocrinology (JSCE), and the Division of Comparative Endocrinology of The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB).  The North American Society of Comparative Endocrinology (NASCE) became a member of the IFCES in 2017 during the 18th International Congress of Comparative Endocrinology (ICCE18), Lake Louise, AB, Canada.

IFCES fosters the organization of international symposia, such as the International Congress of Comparative Endocrinology (ICCE), to occur normally on a quadrennial basis.  IFCES may undertake other activities, such as sponsorship of workshops or specialized symposia, as it deems appropriate.

Announcement

Obituary

Professor Kazuyoshi Tsutsui (1952-2021)

It is with great sadness that we communicate the death on September 16th, 2021, of Professor Kazuyoshi Tsutsui, the President of the International Federation of Comparative Endocrinological Societies (IFCES). The untimely passing of Professor Tsutsui, a leading light in comparative endocrinology, is a great loss for our field and science in general. We have lost a leader of the field, a dedicated servant of science through his role in leadership of scientific societies and journal editorships as well as a generous and open collaborator, and a friend of many.

Professor Tsutsui was born on September 30th, 1952, in Hiroshima, Japan. He carried out his biology undergraduate degree and obtained a Doctor of Science (1981) under the supervision of Professor Susumu Ishii, from Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. He subsequently extended his studies on quail reproduction, and more specifically the action of gonadotropins, to rats, mice, and hamster. However, he is perhaps best known for the work he carried out when he was a Professor of the Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University and the Director of the Centre for Integrative Brain Sciences at Hiroshima University (2000). It was during this time, when working on neuropeptides in the quail (1-4), that he discovered gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) in the quail hypothalamus and demonstrated its inhibitory effect on gonadotropin release from the quail pituitary (5). In the years following this seminal observation, he led the field in studies on the distribution and function of GnIH during  different phases of the lifecycle and in different animals (6-9).

Professor Tsutsui’s funeral was solemnly held in Hatsukaichi city, Hiroshima on September 18th, 2021.  We offer our sincere condolences to the family of Professor Tsutsui and honour his memory as a World leader in Comparative Endocrinology.

Deborah M Power                                           Nick Bernier

Vice President, IFCES                                      Secretary, IFCES

Illustrative Bibliography:

  1. Y. Furukawa, T. Kotegawa and K. Tsutsui (1995) Effects of opioid peptides on the electrical activity of preoptic and hypothalamic neurons in the quail brain. J. Exp. Zool. 273:96-103.
  2. D. Li, K. Tsutsui, Y. Muneoka, H. Minakata and K. Nomoto (1996) An oviposition-inducing peptide: Isolation, localization, and function of avian galanin. Endocrinology 137:1618-1626.
  3. H. Sakamoto, T. Ubuka, C. Kohchi, D. Li, K. Ukena and K. Tsutsui (2000) Existence of galanin in lumbosacral sympathetic ganglionic neurons that project to the quail uterine oviduct. Endocrinology 141:4402-4412.
  4. T. Ubuka, H. Sakamoto, D. Li, K. Ukena and K. Tsutsui (2001) Developmental changes in galanin in lumbosacral sympathetic ganglionic neurons innervating the avian uterine oviduct and galanin induction by sex steroids. J. Endocrinol. 170:357-368.
  5. K. Tsutsui, E. Saigoh, K. Ukena, H. Teranishi, Y. Fujisawa, M. Kikuchi, S. Ishii and P. J. Sharp (2000) A novel avian hypothalamic peptide inhibiting gonadotropin release. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 275:661-667.
  6. L. J. Kriegsfeld, D. F. Mei, G. E. Bentley, T. Ubuka, A. O. Mason, K. Inoue, K. Ukena, K. Tsutsui and R. Silver (2006) Identification and characterization of a gonadotropin-inhibitory system in the brains of mammals. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103:2410-2415.
  7. G. Bentley, T. Ubuka; N. L. McGuire, V. S. Chowdhury, Y. Morita, T. Yano, I. Hasunuma, M. Binns, J. C. Wingfield and K. Tsutsui (2008) Gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone and its receptor in the avian reproductive system. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 156:34-43.
  8. M. Kiyohara, Y. L. Son and K. Tsutsui (2017) Involvement of gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone in pubertal disorders induced by thyroid status. Sci. Rep. 7:1042.
  9. K. Tsutsui and T. Ubuka (2020) Review: Discovery of gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH), progress in GnIH research on reproductive physiology and behavior and perspective of GnIH research on neuroendocrine regulation of reproduction. Mol. Cell. Endocrinol. 514:110914.

News on upcoming meetings and workshops

September 4-8, 2022:

30th CECE & 9th ISFE Joint Conference
Faro, Portugal

For further details, see: www.ceceisfe2022.org