Endocrine Abstracts

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynaeological malignancy in the developed world: lifetime exposure to oestrogen is a key risk factor. Oestrogen action is mediated by ligand activated receptors encoded by the ESR1 (ERα) and ESR2 (ERß) genes: ERα plays a key role in regulating endometrial cell proliferation. ERß5, is a truncated variant isoform of ERß formed by alternative splicing of ESR2 that contains a DNA binding doma...

The human endometrium is a complex multicellular tissue the prime function of which is to provide a receptive environment during a fertile cycle. The tissue responds to steroid hormones exhibiting dynamic cyclical regeneration, angiogenesis, differentiation (decidualisation) and inflammation. In the absence of an embryo the inner surface is shed and repaired without scarring (menstruation). The endometrium exhitbits spatial and temporal expression of androgen receptors (AR) in...

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynaecological malignancy. Obesity is a major risk factor for EC and is associated with elevated cholesterol. 27-Hydroxycholesterol (27HC) is a cholesterol metabolite that functions as an endogenous agonist for Liver X Receptor (LXR) and a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM). Exposure to estrogenic ligands increases risk of developing EC however the impact of 27HC on EC is unknown.Samples of stage 1 EC ...

The endometrium is a complex tissue with luminal and glandular epithelial cell layers supported on a multicellular stromal compartment; in women the inner (luminal) portion of the tissue breaks down and is shed during menstruation. The endometrium is exquisitely sensitive to the actions of sex steroids (oestrogens, progestogens and androgens) produced in ovarian and other extra gonadal tissues and delivered via blood vessels that rapidly develop and mature within the tissue (e...

Introduction: Oestrogen receptors (ER) are essential for reproductive function and fertility. ER46 is a 46 kDa truncated isoform of full length ERα (ER66) that binds oestradiol (E2) and can signal via nuclear or membrane-initiated signalling pathways. ER46 has been detected in breast cancer cell lines but expression in endometrial tissues has not been documented. The aims of this study were a) to determine whether endometrial cells express ER46, and b) to investigate a po...

Endometriosis is a chronic incurable hormone dependent condition characterized by growth of endometrial tissue in sites outside the uterus: 30–40% of women with endometriosis have sub/infertility however the underlying cause is unknown. We have previously demonstrated that steroid-induced differentiation of endometrial stromal cells (hESC) (decidualisation) is associated with increased expression of metabolic genes that are thought to be essential to support the implantin...

Oestrogen receptor (ER) activity has a wide spectrum of functions in the human body, including the development, growth and maintenance of the reproductive system. There are two ER subtypes, ERα and ERβ. The latter exists as multiple splice variants (ERβ1, ERβ2 and ERβ5) some of which lack a steroid ligand-binding domain. ERs act as steroid-ligand activated transcription factors. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) acting via the MAP kinase pathway has been s...

Endometriosis is a chronic oestrogen-dependent incurable inflammatory disorder, defined by the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterine cavity that affects 6–10% of women of reproductive age. It is associated with debilitating pelvic pain and subfertility with a significant impact on quality of life and estimated annual costs to the UK of £11.7 billion. Recent findings from our laboratory have shown that there is a shift in cell metabolism from mitocho...