Endocrine Abstracts

Androgen stimulation triggers rapid activation of signaling pathways in target cells. The initial event is a rapid interaction of classical androgen receptor (AR) with Src. Activation of these pathways fosters cell cycle, prevents apoptosis and leads to cytoskeleton changes in reproductive as well as non-reproductive cells. The role of Src activation in the androgen proliferative action has been recently corroborated by findings showing that specific interference in Src/AR ass...

The estrogen receptors ERα and ERβ are currently considered important molecules in glucose and lipid metabolism, although their specific roles in pancreatic β-cells are still greatly unknown.The function of pancreatic β-cells is the biosynthesis and release of insulin, the only hormone able to decrease blood glucose levels. It has been recently described that ERα plays an essential role in the regulation of insulin biosynthesis b...

The distal nephron is the principal site for salt conservation in the body. Through its action on basolateral and apical membrane transporters, aldosterone regulates ion fluxes across the cells of the distal nephron. Aldosterone elicits physiological responses by modulating the expression of the transporter subunits; for example in the case of the epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) and Na+/K+-ATPase, and also through the expression of the regulatory...

Thyroid hormones T3 and T4 have fundamental roles in development, differentiation and metabolism. Many of these actions can be explained by the well-known binding of T3 to specific nuclear receptors TRα and TRβ, which regulate the expression of numerous genes. However, more and more examples of extranuclear or nongenomic effects of thyroid hormones are now appearing, based on mechanisms that are independent of the nuclear receptors an...