Endocrine Abstracts

Cathepsin K is a cysteine protease known for its importance in bone remodelling. Inhibitors of cathepsin K are in clinical trials for osteoporosis treatment, but side effects included altered levels of related cathepsins in peripheral organs and in the central nervous system (CNS). Importantly, cathepsin K has been identified not only in osteoclasts but also in most epithelia and, recently, in brain parenchyma. Lately, we have also shown that cathepsin K deficiency in mice ind...

Background: Osteoporosis has been an excruciating disease for many years now. Although various treatments are available, there is an unmet need for disease prognosis, early disease diagnosis and prediction of treatment efficacy. New biomarkers are crucial for the diagnosis or prognosis of a disease as well as for monitoring treatment efficacy and improve decision making. Cathepsin K is a cysteine protease that cleaves collagen type I, the major type of collagen found in bone, ...

Epidemiological studies of postmenopausal women on oral oestrogen replacement therapy (ERT) show a reduction in the risk of developing colon carcinoma. Our previous study demonstrated that 17beta-oestradiol (E2) induced apoptosis in COLO205, a colonic cancer cell line. The aim of this study is to identify the genes important in the E2-induced apoptosis. cDNA array analysis 24h post E2 treatment showed a decrease in mRNA of erbB3 of 92%, K-RAS of 83% and p68TRK-T3 of 98% wherea...

Sleep and wakefulness are behavioral and physiological activities. It is a modified form of the basic rest activity cycle. Humans usually fall asleep by entering in non Rapid Eye movement sleep, a phase accompanied by characteristic changes in the encephalogram (EEG). The person next moves to REM sleep, which is characterized not only by rapid eye movements but also by inhibition of skeletal muscle tone. These two states alternate with each other during sleep cycle. It has bee...

Diabetes mellitus is a group of diseases characterized by high levels of blood glucose resulting from defects in insulin production, insulin action, or both. Diabetes patients usually have accompanying cardiovascular disorders. Sulfonylureas have been the leading oral antihyperglycemic agents for type 2 diabetes treatment, which currently still constitute the most popular anti-diabetic drugs. Nevertheless, concern has arisen over the side effects of sulfonylureas on the cardio...

Calcification is a physiological process in bone but occurs also pathologically in the vasculature, favouring cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases (CVD). Vitamin K metabolites, particularly K1 and MK-4, are associated with decreased vascular calcification especially in patients with chronic kidney disease. We investigated the expression of components of the vitamin K cycle (VKC) and the MK-4 synthesis (MKS) in aorta and bone of 26 brain dead organ donors in order to identify d...

MEN1, autosomal dominant, is characterized by combined tumours of the parathyroid glands, pancreatic islet cells, and the anterior pituitary, sometimes associated with other endocrine (adrenocortical, foregut carcinoid) and nonendocrine (lipoma, angiofibroma, collagenoma, ependymoma, meningioma) tumors. It is caused by inactivating mutations of the MEN1 tumour suppressor gene (chromosome 11q13), encoding menin. Menin, involved in activation of gene transcription, regu...

Depolarisation of adrenal zona glomerulosa cells is a pivotal event for the secretion of aldosterone. Potassium channels like TASK1 and TASK3 are highly expressed in the adrenal cortex and determine the membrane voltage. Deletion of TASK3 K+ channels in mice caused a severe age-dependent hyperaldosteronism. The aim of this study was to identify the mechanisms underlying this phenotype.Neonatal TASK3-/- mice (ko) showed higher plasma aldosteron...

The vasodilatory effects of the meglitinide class of anti-diabetic drug, mitiglinide in phenylephrine (Phe)-pre-contracted aortic rings were investigated. Mitiglinide concentration-dependently induced vasodilation. Administration of the large-conductance Ca2+-dependent K+ (BKCa) channel inhibitor paxilline, inward rectifier K+ (Kir) channel inhibitor Ba2+, and ATP-dependent K+ (KATP) channel inhibitor...

The aim of the present study was to measure free thiols content, Na+/K+-ATPase, Ca2+-ATPase activities in human spermatozoa of asthenozoospermic patients and normospermic donors, and evaluate any influence on kinetic sperm features, as well as correlation with peroxynitrite. In fact, membrane integrity and its composition are the basic characteristics of the sperm membrane, thus, it is evident that its composition is an important factor for mem...