Endocrine Abstracts

In vitro 3D cell culture systems seem to appropriately reproduce the tumor cell microenvironment, including nutrients-oxygen conditions and cell-cell interactions. These models may better mimic in vivo tumor conditions and more accurately reproduce drug treatments effects. Since most in vitro studies in neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are performed in 2D culture systems (monolayer), we aimed to compare the monolayer system with a 3D spheroid cell cultur...

The process of sexual differentiation has been defined by examining animal models and human conditions where errors of sexual development result in ambiguous genitalia. The study of transsexualism where the cognitive sexual phenotype is not concordant with the individual's physical and genetic phenotype has also been important.The sex determining region of the Y chromosome controls male gonadal development by inducing SOX 9 which causes testicular differ...

Recent years have seen many exciting developments in the field of steroidogenesis. These include improved diagnostics through mass spectrometry, novel clinical relevance attributed to steroids previously deemed irrelevant and successful implementation of new anti-cancer treatments. Prostate cancer is a prime example of the latter with the recent confirmation that castration-resistant disease is still androgen-dependent and susceptible to hormonal manipulation with next generat...

The expression of somatostatin (SS) receptors (sst) and dopamine (DA) D2 receptors (D2DR) on pituitary adenomas forms the basis for medical therapy using SS-analogues and DA-agonists. Different types of human pituitary adenomas variably express the five known sst subtypes, as well as D2DR. GH-secreting pituitary adenomas express predominantly sst2 and sst5 mRNA, prolactinomas mainly express sst5 mRNA, while clinically non-functioning pituitary adenomas express sst2 and sst3. I...

History: A 62-year-old female presented with a 15-year history of tiredness and headaches. Clinically she had signs of acromegaly. This was confirmed with IGF1 688 ug/l and with a 2 h value (post GTT)of growth hormone 13.9 miu/l. MRI scan revealed a 3.5×3.5×2.5 cm mass in the pituitary fossa extending laterally to involve the left cavernous sinus and suprasellar extension causing moderate splaying of the optic chiasm. The left trigeminal nerve and internal carotid ar...

A 55 year old woman presented in May 2002 with symptoms of chronic fatigue, depression, intermittent and headaches. She had a history multinodular goitre and was found to have a fT4 of 15 pmol/L (N: 11–23) and TSH of 0.32 mU/L (N: 0.5–4). Medication was citalopram and thyroxine 50 ug once daily commenced by her GP. On examination her BMI was 24 kg/m2. She had scant body hair, was normotensive, and had normal visual fields on confrontation. Baseline investi...

Studies on the distribution of Somatostatin Receptor (sst)-subtypes on endocrine tumors, the development of sst-subtype specific analogues, the elucidation of phenomena like receptor desensitization and ligand-receptor internalization, and the potential consequences (and reversal) of the epigenetic silencing of sst offer new diagnostic and therapeutic modalities in endocrine diseases:1. apart from sst2 activation, Somatostatin analogues target...

Cushing’s syndrome (CS) during pregnancy is a rare metabolic condition with only a few cases reported in the literature. Misdiagnosis of CS is common because of the overlapping features of fatigue, weight gain, striae, and emotional changes that occur during normal pregnancy. The clinical presentation together with laboratory and imaging findings help to make a diagnosis. However, changes in maternal hormones and their binding proteins complicate assessment of the normal ...

Background: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) arising within an ovarian teratoma is an extremely rare condition that comes with certain difficulties in the preoperative diagnosis and postoperative treatment strategy. It is either asymptomatic (detected incidentally) or with nonspecific symptoms. Currently, no consensus exists on the surgical and postoperative treatment of patients with malignant struma ovarii.Case presentation: A 26-year-old female prese...

Deoxycorticosterone (DOC: a weak mineralocorticoid) is the precursor to corticosterone (B: the major glucocorticoid in rodents) and aldosterone. Cyp11b1 encodes 11β-hydroxylase which catalyses the conversion of DOC to B in rodents. The aim of this study is to develop sensitive and specific ELISA methods to estimate urinary DOC and B levels in mice. Antibodies against DOC and B were raised in rabbits by our laboratories as previously described and HRP-Goat anti-Rabbit IgG ...