Endocrine Abstracts

Gene delivery to the CNS is undermined by the lack of suitable vectors capable of delivering genes with sufficient specificity, efficacy and safety. In previous studies we have shown that bacteriophage particles, which lack tropism for mammalian cells, can be genetically modified to display specific ligands that allow binding, internalisation and cell transduction of receptor-bearing target cells. Moreover, phage particles can be forced to evolve using combinatorial techniques...

Central nervous system neurones are generally incapable of regenerating their axons after injury due to the limited availability of neurotrophins, the development of a glial scar, and the presence of multiple axon growth inhibitors. We therefore designed short interfering RNA (siRNA) sequences to knock down components of the inhibitory signalling cascade and tested their ability to disinhibit the growth of FGF2-stimulated dorsal root ganglia neurone (DRGN) neurites in the pres...

VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) is an endothelial cell mitogen responsible for physiological and pathophysiological angiogenesis. Abnormal regulation of VEGF expression in anterior pituitary folliculostellate (FS) cells has been implicated in pituitary tumour progression. PACAP is a well-documented stimulant of VEGF secretion from the pituitary in which both FS and endocrine cells express VEGF. TtT/GF cells are a mouse pituitary cell line with many characteristics of...

The insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs-1 to -6) complex IGF-I and -II and were originally assumed to limit IGF access to the main IGF signalling receptor (IGFR) and decrease IGF activity. IGFBP-5 is the most conserved of the IGFBPs. Examination of its primary sequence reveals that, in addition to the key IGF binding domain, additional functional motifs are present that are not related to its IGF binding function.IGFBP-5 is upregulated du...

Little is known about the factors affecting preantral follicle growth but we have recently shown that IGF-I stimulates growth of follicles in human cortical tissue in culture (Stubbs et al, Endocrine Abstracts 2003, 6, OC7). The aim of this study was to extend the study of the effects of IGF-I on follicle recruitment and test the specificity of action by examining the ability of the type 1 IGF receptor antibody, alpha-IR3, to inhibit IGF action. Small ovarian cortical biopsies...

IGFBP-5 is an important member of the IGF axis in the rodent mammary gland and can function by sequestering IGF-I (insulin-like growth factor-I) - a polypeptide growth factor involved in the growth and differentiation of the mammary gland. Removal of free IGF-I results in inhibition of IGF-I signalling through the cell surface Type-I IGF receptor, and since IGFBP-5 is highly up regulated during mammary gland involution in vivo, it is thought to have a pro-apoptotic role...

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and their binding proteins (IGFBPs) have important metabolic roles in the human body. IGFBP-3 (40 and 45 kD glycoforms) is the most abundant in serum, whereas IGFBP-2 (34 kD) and IGFBP-1 (29 kD) are present at lower concentrations.Most inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract are characterised by a cytokine- mediated inflammatory reaction, malnutrition and catabolism. The aim of this work was to detect possib...

While a number of studies have shown that treatment of children born small for gestational age (SGA) with continuously administered growth hormone (GH) induces a significant height improvement, this clinical trial approved by the local ethics committee investigated in a prospective way the growth response to different intermittent recombinant human GH (r-hGH, Saizen) treatment regimens over 4 years.Fifty-eight severely short (height standard deviation sc...