Endocrine Abstracts

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute the major family of cell surface receptors. They comprise receptors for light, taste and smell as well as ions, small transmitters, peptides and large protein hormones. Given their involvement in fundamental biological processes and their accessibility, GPCRs serve as targets for many classes of drugs, including beta-blockers, antihistamines and opiates.Whereas many biochemical steps involved in GPCR signali...

In thyroid cells TSH/cAMP stimulation is associated with proliferation and differentiation. The principal effector of cAMP is the protein kinase A (PKA) and events downstream PKA activation, signaling specificity and expression of PKA isoforms are largely unexplored. PKA is composed of two regulatory and two catalytic subunits. Two major isoforms of PKA (I and II) are determined by their specific regulatory subunits (RIα, RIβ, RIIα and RIIβ). A recent gene ...

Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) is the key modulator of thyroid cell function. Binding of TSH to its receptor (TSHR) results in an increase of cAMP intracellular concentration, which activates protein kinase A (PKA) to phosphorylate CREB and other substrates. Eventually, this leads to gene transcription modification associated with both proliferation and differentiation. Two major types of PKA (PKA I and II) exist in mammal cells, but their specific role in TSH signaling is ...