Endocrine Abstracts

Neuroendocrine molecules play a significant role in the progression of human prostate cancer (PCa) and its neuroendocrine differentiation has been associated to a worse prognosis. Among these molecules, the pleiotropic peptide neuropeptide Y (NPY) was found to be expressed in the human prostate and may show some relevance in PCa progression. In this study, we evaluated the direct effect of NPY on the growth of the human PCa cell lines LNCaP (androgen dependent) and DU145 and P...

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a pleiotropic cytokine of the interleukine-6 superfamily, is involved in several functions including the control of reproduction at the embrionic-endometrial interface and the regulation of energy homeostasis. LIF activates a cell-surface receptor complex (LIF-Rs) composed of one ligand-specific low affinity LIF receptor β (LIFR-β) subunit and the gp-130 subunit. Since little is known about the involvement of LIF in the modulation of...

Aging is associated with weight loss, appetite decline, reduced fat-free mass (FFM) and increased fat mass (FM). Dysregulation of the ghrelin and leptin systems could reduce hunger and promote early satiety in elderly subjects, leading to impairment of the nutritional status. To better clarify this issue, we evaluated the response of plasma ghrelin and leptin to a standardised oral mixed nutrient load (SOMNL) in elderly subjects with different body composition. The study popul...