Endocrine Abstracts

In pregnant women with thyroid diseases an increased amount of LT4 may be required for the correction of hypothyroidism or treatment of nodular goiter. Aim of this study was to assess the amount of the variations of LT4 requirement in pregnant women with thyroid diseases. To address this issue, we retrospectively evaluated a cohort of 107 women treated with LT4 divided in two groups: 42 euthyroid (E) (affected by nodular goiter (NG) treated with LT4 suppressive therapy) and 65...

Post-translational modifications of histones such as methylation, acetylation, and phoshorylation regulate chromatin structure and gene expression. However, phosphorylation of histone H3 at threonine 11 (H3T11ph) has not been linked to transcriptional regulation. Here we show that protein kinase C-related kinase 1 (PRK1) phosphorylates H3T11 upon ligand-dependent recruitment to androgen receptor (AR) target genes. PRK1 is pivotal to AR function since PRK1 knockdown by RNAi or ...

Introduction: Chronic hypercortisolemia during Cushing Syndrome (CS) determines significant changes in the plasticity and function of metabolic tissues like visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Persistence of alterations in VAT function after CS remission is under debate, as data of clinical studies is not consistent due to confounder factors and limited availability of VAT. Animal model of reversible CS presents long-term alterations on VAT after remission. We investigate VAT alter...

Background: Mitotane antitumor efficacy is related to plasma levels. Objective responses have been associated with mitotane plasma levels >14 mg/l. However, high plasma levels >20 or >30 mg/l are at higher risk of toxicity, especially neurotoxicity. National-based survey is lacking to evaluate the frequency and severity of high mitotane plasma levels. Our aim was to retrospectively describe serious adverse events (SAE).Methods: Mitotane plasm...

CDGP is a common growth disorder, often dominantly inherited. Genetic association is thus very likely. There are many possible candidates but none are yet linked to CDGP. We assessed the possible contribution of L, LR genes (mutations in each cause very delayed or absent puberty), CART (mediates the effect of L on GnRH pulse generation), and GPR54 (a hypothalamic G-protein coupled receptor, which is mutated in familial hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism) genes.<p class="abstex...

High protein diets suppress appetite and facilitate weight loss, but are difficult to adhere to. Understanding the mechanisms by which protein suppresses appetite may establish targets for more acceptable interventions to treat or prevent obesity. Of particular interest is the concept of functional foods or novel products, which aim to potentiate satiety.Receptor systems that respond to amino acids have been identified. However, the specific mechanisms r...

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterised by occurrence of parathyroid tumours and neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) of the pancreas and pituitary, which is caused by mutations of the MEN1 gene, encoding menin. Mouse models are important in elucidating mechanisms of MEN1 tumourigenesis and treatments, but the current models have limitations. Thus, in conventional heterozygous MEN1 knockout models, tumour d...

The importance of the sRANK-L / RANK / Osteoprotegerin (OPG) system in osteoclast function has clearly been demonstrated in the rat. Activating and inactivating mutations lead to severe disturbances of bone remodelling.Since this early animal work, there have been several studies designed to assess the importance of sRANK-L / RANK / OPG in diseases of the human skeleton. sRANK-L and OPG are measurable in blood.This cross-sectional ...

Objective: Cathepsin L can control adipogenesis and relate to acute coronary syndrome. However, it is not clear whether cathepsin L can be affected by saturated fatty acid and decrease by curcumin. We examined the hypothesis that palmitate upregulates cathepsin L expression in adipose tissue and curcumin can be block that effect.Methods: 3T3-L1 cells were fully differentiated for 8 to 10 days and treated with palmitate, LPS, IL6, TNF-α, IL6 neutrali...

Lactate is a metabolite that activates the G-protein coupled receptor, Hydroxycarboxylic acid Receptor 1 (HCAR1) to regulate physiological processes such as lipolysis, cancer cell survival, and neuroprotection. Lactate exists in two forms, L+ and D-, with the L isoform predominant in the human body. Interestingly, both isoforms are only found together in the gastrointestinal tract. L-lactate is synthesised as a by-product of anaerobic respiration, whereas D-lactate, is a produ...