Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The HPA axis is essential for mammalian life. Glucocorticoids are commonly administered and long-term HPA axis suppression is a major clinical problem. Previous experiments in our lab have shown that long-term treatment with glucocorticoids cause silencing of tpit, a pituitary-specific master regulator of the key player in HPA axis regulation – propiomelanocortin (pomc). Even after withdrawal of treatment tpit expression is silence...

Introduction:: The HPA axis is essential for mammalian life. Proopiomelanocortin (POMC), expressed in corticotroph cells of the pituitary, is the master activator of the axis, and a classical negative feedback loop exists whereby glucocorticoids from the adrenals repress its expression. Glucocorticoids are commonly prescribed medicines (10 million prescriptions in UK per year), but when used long-term, suppression of the HPA axis is a major side effect, with risk of life-threa...

Introduction: Cushing’s disease is a devastating condition associated with a fivefold excess mortality. It is usually due to a small (few mm) benign corticotroph tumour in the pituitary expressing excess pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), the peptide product of which, ACTH, drives excess secretion of cortisol from the adrenal. There is a clear clinical need for better treatment options.Background: We have designed, optimized and validated unique siRNAs to...