Endocrine Abstracts

We have recently reported that somatic mutations in the ubiquitin-specific protease 8 (USP8) are present in corticotropinomas of patients with Cushing’s disease and that these mutations reduced the interaction with 14-3-3. Mutant USP8 exhibited higher deubiquitination activity and potentiated EGFR-induced POMC expression (Reincke et al., Nat Genet 2014). To further study the prevalence of these mutations, we have analyzed 134 ACTH-producing corticotropin...

Objective: Transsphenoidal surgery is the treatment of choice for Cushing’s disease (CD). Surgery is challenging due to the often very small adenomas. In experienced pituitary centers a high remission rate is reported. Nevertheless, endocrinologists and neurosurgeons face cases with persistent or recurrent CD. These patients must be referred to an experienced pituitary center. In addition to medical treatment, radiation therapy and bilateral adrenalectomy, repeat TSS must...

Objective: The soluble leptin receptor (sOb-R) is generated by ectodomain shedding of the membrane-associated Ob-R and may modulate leptin action in metabolic dysregulations. The objective of our study was to investigate whether or not sOb-R generation may be induced by indicators of energy availability or metabolic regulators in a cell model.Material and methods: The four human Ob-R isoforms were cloned, characterized by binding experiments with 125-iod...

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of different coagulants and storage conditions on the stability of ACTH in plasma using the LIAISON-ACTH-Chemiluminescence Immunoassay.Design and methods: Sequential human blood samples were collected from healthy volunteers (n=83) between 8 and 10 pm into EDTA collection tubes (Sarstedt) and EDTA plus aprotinin tubes (Vacuette, Greiner Labortechnik), respectively. After collection the blood sampl...

Background: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) can progress to hepatic fibrosis and end-stage liver disease. Hepatic stellate cells (HSC) are the central mediators of liver fibrosis. The molecular mechanisms linking hepatic steatosis to activation of HSC, thereby promoting inflammation and fibrosis, are mainly unknown. Here, we demonstrate a novel in vitro model to study the effect of hepatic lipid accumulation on HSC.Methods and results:...

Purpose: The prevalence of pathological bone densities in men and women with prolactinomas treated either primary surgically or medically are infrequently reported across large cohorts. In the present study, we aimed at comparing the impact of either therapeutic approach on the bone density in men vs women with prolactinomas.Methods: Retrospective case-note study including all consecutive patients with prolactinomas in whom osteodensitometry data was ava...

In the present study, we investigated neural alterations in newly diagnosed patients with mild hypothyroidism due to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis alongside mood and cognition as well as changes with treatment initiation. Animal studies and first studies of human brain metabolism using radioactive tracers suggest neural involvement in affective and cognitive symptoms of hypothyroidism. Here, we introduce non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques that allow the an...

Background: Systemic adiponectin is reduced in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Peripheral monocytes of type 2 diabetic patients are activated and show a higher surface abundance of CCR2. Inflammatory markers like CCL2 are elevated in the serum of these patients. Therefore, the influence of adiponectin on the release of CC chemokines and the abundance of the corresponding receptors were investigated in monocytic cells.Methods: Primary ...

Background: The variablity of the individual susceptibility to diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance is well known, but so far insufficiently explained. As skeletal muscle metabolism and insulin sensitivity are important pathophysiologic features of obesity-asscociated metabolic perturbations, we tried to identify differences in muscular gene expression profiles between high fat fed rats prone to develop obesity (diet-induced obesity, DIO) and those which remained lean (...

Background: Obese patients show an increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system, but the causality of the relationship is not known. Here, we examine whether a pharmacologic sympathectomy influences diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance in the high fat fed rat model.Methods: Wistar-Rats were fed ad libitum with a high fat diet (HF, 40 energy% of fat, based on lard) for 12 weeks. A pharmacologic sympathectomy was performed by a) weekl...