Endocrine Abstracts

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Primary adrenal insufficiency is due to impairment of the adrenal gland with ~80% of the cases being due to autoimmune adrenalitis (Addison’s disease). Other cases of primary adrenal insufficiency might be idiopathic, caused by adrenal metastases, or due to congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Adrenal insufficiency might also be induced by infectious diseases e.g. COVID-19 and, as seen lately in an increasing number of patients, by novel medications targeting hypertension and ...

Adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (FABP4) is emerging as a novel risk marker for metabolic syndrome and atherosclerosis. In this context we recently showed that FABP4 released by human adipocytes suppresses cardiomyocyte contraction, thus suggesting a pathogenic role for FABP4 in the cardiac dysfunction in obesity. Since a new FABP4 inhibitor which competitively inhibits the binding of endogenous fatty acids to FABP4 was effective in the treatment of atherosclerosis and dia...

The adrenal gland displays an important role in integrating neuronal, immune, vascular, metabolic and endocrine signals under a common organ capsule. The adrenal is the central organ of the stress response system, responsible for responses to acute and chronic stress stimuli and, thereby, playing a major role in numerous stress-related disorders. While for other diseases translational scientists developed programs to generate healthy cells to regenerate damaged tissues in pati...

Background: Sepsis is a life-threatening inflammatory condition and a leading cause of death in hospitals. It arises when a microbial infection triggers prolonged and uncontrolled systemic inflammation resulting in progressing organ dysfunction. Recent experimental data suggest a possible involvement of ferroptosis – an iron-dependent form of regulated necrosis – in sepsis-mediated damage of many vital organs. However, its role in adrenal gland dysfunction and/or dam...

Chronic stress is a pervasive concern in the modern society. A long-term hyper activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis leads to elevated amounts of stress hormones [e.g. ACTH and glucocorticoids (GCs)]. This can incur maladaptation that eventually contributes to mental illness, cardiovascular dysfunctions, diabetes, cancer and autoimmune diseases. Emerging key players for stress adaptation of the HPA axis are stem/progenitor cell populations. In this study,...

Adrenal insufficiency is a life-threatening condition in which the adrenal glands fail to produce adequate amounts of steroid hormones thus leading to severe disturbances of body homeostasis. Today’s treatment options are limited to hormone replacement therapies that are, however, hampered by serious side effects. Cell replacement therapies with adrenocortical stem cells could present a potential cure, but the culture of such stem cells has proven difficult. We have devel...

Stress can lead to an increase in body fat and obesity as main clinical conditions preceding the metabolic syndrome. In metabolic stress, hyperactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been observed, resulting in increased steroidogenesis and alteration of cortisol secretion1. This increased sensitivity of the HPA axis may be related to the development of comorbidities or severe illness in patients with metabolic diseases and vice ...

Obesity has long been recognized as an independent risk factor in heart failure. The mechanisms proposed to explain this correlation include hemodynamic changes secondary to obesity, leading to left ventricular remodeling and systolic dysfunction, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis induced by increased lipid accumulation into cardiomyocytes. Adipose tissue is an endocrine organ that secretes a wide variety of bioactive factors, which seem to mediate communication between adipose tiss...

Within the adrenal gland, chromaffin cells and their progenitors are exposed to a wide variety of growth factors and hormones, including adrenal androgens such as DHEA. The DHEA producing-zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex is in close proximity to the neural crest-derived catecholamine-producing chromaffin cells of the medulla, enabling strong paracrine interactions. In vivo studies in humans revealed that congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase ...