Endocrine Abstracts

Obesity is one of the leading causes of preventable death in the Western world, and its prevalence is dramatically increasing. Although obesity is primarily a metabolic disease, immunological aberrations also significantly contribute to obesity-related morbidity. The well-established state of chronic low-grade inflammation is considered to be crucial in the development of complications such as diabetes and atherosclerosis. Moreover, obesity is associated with increased suscept...

In recent years, it was demonstrated that tumor infiltrating and circulating regulatory and cytotoxic T-cells are associated with clinical outcome in several solid tumors. However, their role in adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) was never studied, although 60% of these tumors secrete autonomously cortisol, a well-established potent immunosuppressant that most likely influences the balance between different T-cells.Firstly, we analyzed the circulating regula...

Testosterone reduces myocardial ischaemia in men with coronary artery disease (CAD) and improves symptoms and exercise capacity in men with congestive heart failure (CHF), effects proposed to be due to testosterone-induced vasodilatation. Isolated vessel studies suggest this occurs via a calcium antagonistic action upon voltage-gated Ca2+ channels but this has yet to be investigated directly.We therefore employed patch clamp methodology to stu...

Background: The FSHB –211 G > T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is known to affect pituitary FSH output by reducing the transcriptional activity of FSHB. Identifying the response of the pituitary to exogenous GnRH stimulation in subjects with FSHB -211 G > T SNP could provide useful information concerning the mechanisms regulating FSH synthesis and release.Objectives: This study aimed to assess the pituitary...

The survival of the semiallogeneic fetus within the mother is thought to be due to mechanisms of immunological tolerance. Regulatory T cells (Treg) are believed to have a crucial role in maintaining pregnancy by creating a transient tolerant microenvironment within the maternal uterus as former studies confirmed. We have evidences that Treg expand in lymph nodes from normal pregnant mice already on day 2 of pregnancy. Abortion-prone mice present diminished numbers of Treg in i...

Introduction: Interferon-α (IFN-α) exerts different immune effects and is used in current therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. One of the side-effects of IFN-α therapy is interferon-induced thyroiditis (IIT). The role of lymphocyte subpopulations in IIT remains to be defined.Objective: This study was conducted to assess different peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations, mainly regulatory CD4+CD25+...

The systemic function of thyroid hormones (TH) is highly dependent on their local action in distinct cell populations. A major target of TH are immune cells, yet knowledge on the effect of TH on immune responses is still incomplete. Within this study we aimed to determine the impact of TH on T cells, key players of immune responses, in more detail. To this end, we analyzed the activation and function of T cells from mice lacking TRα (TRα0/0) or expressing ...

CD4+CD25+lymphocytes (Tregs) play a crucial role in self-tolerance and autoimmunity. LADA is associated with the loss of immune tolerance to β-cell autoantigens similar to classic type 1 diabetes mellitus. The aim of the study was to evaluate changes in terms of Tregs number and function (FOXP3 expression) in LADA patients.Material and methods: We examined 74 patients with LADA at different stages of the disease. Fifty-six healthy subjects (control ...

Thyroid autoimmune disorders comprise more than 30% of all organ-specific autoimmune diseases and are characterized by autoantibodies and infiltrating T cells. The pathologic role of infiltrating T cells is not well defined. To address this issue, we generated transgenic mice expressing a human T-cell receptor derived from the thyroid-infiltrating T cell of a patient with thyroiditis and specific for a cryptic epitope of thyroid-peroxidase. This humanized transgenic mouse mode...

The T cell immune system exists in a state of balance, poised to react to invading pathogens but at the same time constantly being restrained from attacking our own tissues. Several strategies are employed in order to minimise our own self-reactivity. First amongst these processes is the deletion of T cells in the thymus, however this process is incomplete and self-reactive T cells still populate our immune systems. A second layer of control is exerted by regulatory T cells (T...