Endocrine Abstracts

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a widespread endocrine disruptor commonly used by plastic industries. More than 95% of the world population contains BPA (ng/ml) in biological fluids raising the question of its activity and potential adverse effects. Anecdotally, molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH), an enamel pathology affecting 15–18% of children, is increasing concurrently with ED related pathologies. Our previous data show that BPA impacts amelogenesis and generate similar enam...

Introduction: Thyroid hormones (TH) are essential regulators of metabolism and increase energy expenditure (EE). Mitochondria-rich brown adipose tissue (BAT) is specialised in thermogenesis and significantly contributes to EE. BAT contains essential components of TH action but TH transporters like MCT8 have not been characterised so far. As direct effects on O2 consumption and mitochondrial action have not been investigated before we tested MCT8 expression and direct effects o...

The insulin signalling system including the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase (IRTK) is evolutionarily ancient. The Drosophila Melanogaster genome contains seven genes for insulin-like peptides (ILPs) that are expressed in neurosecretory cells in a highly tissue- and stage-specific pattern, DILP1–7. There is however only one IRTK (dIR). This system is important in the regulation of metabolism, growth, reproduction and lifespan. We reported in 2011 the crystal stru...

Introduction: Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is a simple, the most cost-effective, less invasive and a commonly used diagnostic tool for evaluating thyroid nodules. Recent times a tech-nique called fine-needle sampling non-aspiration (FNNA) or fine-needle capillary thyroid biopsies (FNC) has been more preferred. This technique prevents the use of suction so there is no aspiration crush and there-fore nondiagnostic outcomes are reduced. The aim of this prospective study was to co...

Aim: The purpose of this study was to analysis BRAF V600E mutational status in papillary thyroid microcarcinomas (PTMCs) and unknown malignant potential thyroid tumors (UMP-TTs) and to investigate association of BRAF V600 positivity with clinicopathologic parameters.Material and method: Seventy-two PTMC and 20 UMPTT tissues were included in this study. Genomic DNA was extracted from paraffin-embedded tumor tissue. The paraffin-embedded thyroid tumor samp...

The function of stem cells in the anterior pituitary gland, their role in homeostasis during life and possible involvement in pituitary tumours remain largely unknown. We have previously shown that cells exclusively within the Sox2+ compartment of the mouse pituitary have progenitor/stem cell properties in culture where they can self-renew and terminally differentiate. To address if these cells act as stem cells in vivo, we generated an inducible Sox2-C...

The 21-hydroxylase (21OH) gene, CYP21A2, encodes the 21OH steroidogenic enzyme which is the primary autoantigen in autoimmune Addison’s disease (AAD). It is located on chromosome 6p21, in a copy number repeat termed RCCX, adjacent to the 21OH pseudogene (CYP21A1P). CYP21A1P is highly homologous to CYP21A2 but contains an 8 bp deletion in exon 3 (707-714delGAGACTAC) which results in a frameshift. The predicted protein product is...

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...

Background/aims: The transcription factor neurogenin 3 (NGN3) is required for pancreatic islet cell specification from multipotent progenitor cells; yet we have limited understanding of the downstream genetic program it directly initiates. A 3 Mb centromeric region on chromosome 20p contains a number of genes activated downstream of NGN3 including INSM1 and NKX2.2. We proposed that NGN3 alters the expression of other genes within this region as poten...

Diabetes is one of the main health problems in the world, thus it is well worthwhile to explore alternate treatments made from natural extracts. Cnidoscolus chayamansa, is an endemic plant from the Southeastern of Mexico known for its easy and cheap growing requirements. C. chayamansa contains dihydromyricetin a flavonoid that is believed exerts hypoglycemic effects. We obtained a hydro-ethanolic extract from the leaves of C. chayamansa (EEC), optimi...