Endocrine Abstracts

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from a developmental stage of preimplanted embryos. In this study, we investigated the effect of female sex steroid hormones on the characteristics of human ES cells by using a feeder-free culture protocol. In a feeder-free condition without sex hormones, human ES cells assumed the form of tightly packed cells that grow in a monolayer. The cells also displayed clean and defined edges with no evidence of differentiati...

Reproduction requires the temporal and spacial control of specific and exact signals, delivered by locally regulated hormonal flux. In the case of androgen biosynthesis, cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase, 17,20-lyase (P450c17) is the key enzyme. However, P450c17 is a multi-functional P450, so, it synthesizes cortisol in the zona fascicula of the adrenal cortex and also androgen precursors in the adrenal zona reticularis and the gonads. The regulation of this dual activity h...

Background: Obesity associates with co-morbidities as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Obese men often present with low testosterone (T) levels. As sex steroids undergo hepatic metabolization and their serum levels depend on hepatic sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) secretion, NAFLD could contribute to this phenomenon. Previous studies however were contradictory and not based on state-of-the-art technology as mass spectrometry or biopsy-proven NAFLD.<p class="a...