Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Serum thyroglobulin (Tg) measurement is the marker of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) after total thyroidectomy, but its value is limited by the interference of anti-Tg antibodies (TgAb). Detection of Tg in fine-needle aspiration biopsy (TG-FNAB) washout fluid is used recently to identify neck DTC metastases, but the interference of TGAb-FNAB in the procedure is unknown.Objectives: To evaluate the utility of TG-FNAB for detecting cer...

Context: Pituitary tumorigenesis does not fit into the most common model of cancer development driven by gene mutations. Instead, epigenetic mechanisms have been widely involved. Among them, aberrant DNA methylation at CpG sites is one of epigenetic hallmarks of tumour cells. There are several methods to study the epigenetic regulation of genome activity, from DNA methylation arrays to more specific DNA methylation analysis such as pyrosequencing, Methylation-Specific PCR (MS-...

The Spanish acromegaly registry (REA) is an online epidemiological database created in 1997 to collect clinical and biochemical data of patients with acromegaly followed in Spain.Aim: To study trends in acromegaly treatment over time in Spain.Methods: REA is an online database in which registered endocrinologists collect data from all acromegalic patients seen at their practices in Spain. In the last year the neuroendocrine group o...

Introduction: Epigenetic and genetic alterations contribute to cancer initiation and progression. These alterations may be playing a determinant role in the development of pituitary adenomas (PAs). One of these epigenetic processes is the DNA methylation and, specifically, methylation of Tumour Suppressor Genes (TSG). TSG are key elements that allow the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Due to epigenetic changes are reversible, a better understanding of the underlying epige...

Introduction: The silencing mechanisms of corticotroph tumors (CT) remain unclear. The most feasible hypothesis lies in a post-transcriptional deregulation of the POMC gene, precursor of ACTH. Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules involved in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression through their inhibitory action on messenger RNA. miRNAs capable of inhibiting the expression of POMC have been described at the level of neurons of the hypot...

Introduction: Previous results of our group, presented in the ECE last year, showed a lower gene expression of proconvertase PC1/3, involved in the processing of POMC, in silent corticotroph tumors (sCT) than in functioning ones (fCT), overall and in microadenomas. The aim of the present study was to quantify the protein expression of convertases involved in the processing of POMC (PC1/3) and in the degradation of ACTH (PC2, CPE and PAM) in a series of CT.</p...

Introduction: Silent somatotroph tumors (sST) are a pituitary neuroendocrine tumor subtype with positive immunostaining for growth hormone (GH) but without the presence of acromegaly. Unlike silent corticotroph tumors, there is little information in the literature on sST. The aim of the present study was to study the demographic, clinical and molecular characteristics in a series of ST in order to compare sST and functioning ST (fST).Methods: We have stu...

Purpose: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a fundamental component of gene regulation mechanisms. Presently, altered miRNA patterns of expression have been documented in different human cancers, and they may explain the distinct behavior of pituitary adenomas (PA) and the differences between subtypes. miR-375 can target among other genes to IGF1 receptor (IGF1R) and participes in reprogramming cancer cell metabolism. The aim of this study was to assess the miR-375 role on pathogenesis of...

Purpose: The 2004 edition of the WHO text ‘Histological typing of endocrine tumors’ classified pituitary adenomas (PA) on the basis of their histological and immunohistochemical characteristics. Recent advances on the knowledge of the molecular patterns of these tumours may allow establishing a molecular classification with higher accuracy and specificity than previous one.Methods: Within the pale of the multicenter Spanish Molecular Registry o...

Purpose: IGF receptor 1 (IGF1R) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are receptors tyrosine-kinase (RTK) whose altered signaling are critical factors in development of many types of tumours. These RTK are some of the main targets of the microRNA miR-7. This important tumor supressor miRNA has the ability to inhibit the motility, invasiveness and anchorage-independent growth, suggesting a strong therapeutic potential in many types of cancer. Pituitary adenomas (PA) are a...