Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Placenta has many essential roles to maintain pregnancy and homeostasis. Calcium transport and its regulation are also important for vital roles of placenta. In general, calcium transport is regulated by active transcellular and passive paracellular pathways. Transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 5/6 (TRPV5/6), calbindin-D9k (CaBP-9k), calbindin-D28k (CaBP-28k), and Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX1) are involved in the transcellular pathway. Para...

Introduction: Calcium transport is regulated by active transcellular and passive paracellular pathways which are responsible for calcium (re)absorption in the intestine and kidney. The activity of passive transport is determined by the permeability of tight junction. In general, the permeability of tight junction is inversely proportional with the expression of tight junction genes. Claudin and occludin among the tight junction genes are concerned directly with permeability of...

Introduction: Octylphenol (OP) is a degradation product of alkylphenol ethoxylates that are widely used to in rubber, pesticides and paints. Bisphenol A (BPA) is an organic compound with two functional phenol groups and used to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins, along with other applications. OP and BPA are known as endocrine disruptors that can induce inappropriate estrogenic action, and may disturb natural calcium metabolism. In the present study, the effects of OP...

Introduction: There are concerns about the combined estrogenic effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), since mixtures of these chemicals exist in our environment. This study investigated potential synergistic interactions between bisphenol A (BPA) and isobutylparaben (IBP), which are major xenoestrogens used in the manufacture of plastics, cosmetics, drugs, and other products. The combined effects of these two chemicals were analyzed by measuring expression of calbin...

Introduction: Parabens, esters of para-hydroxybenzoic acid, are widely used as an antimicrobial agent in the cosmetic products and pharmaceutical industries. Recently, it has been reported that parabens including methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, butyl-, isopropyl-, and isobutylparaben act as xenoestrogens, a class of endocrine disruptors. In this study, we hypothesized that parabens may disrupt ovarian follicle maturation in female rats during the neonatal period.<p class="abstex...

Introduction: Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific disease characterized by de novo development of concurrent hypertension, proteinuria and oxidative stress in placenta. Hypoxia occurs during the development of placenta in the first trimester and is implicated in trophoblast differentiation. The oxidative stress, resulting from deficient remodeling of spiral arteries, is an important inducer of preeclampsia. The potassium-dependent sodium/calcium exchangers including NC...

Introduction: Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific disease characterized by de novo development of concurrent hypertension, proteinuria and oxidative stress in the placenta. Hypoxia occurs during the development of placenta in the first trimester and is implicated in trophoblast differentiation. Last trimester of gestation, the calcium and mineral transport from mother to fetus are dramatically increased in response to the accelerated demand for bone mineralization in t...

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have brougt the growing concern about the potential to interfere with the endocrine system and to cause health problems. Among EDCs, bisphenol A (BPA) and 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-methoxyphenol)-ethane (methoxychlor, MXC) can bind to estrogen receptors (ERs) and lead abnormality of ER depenent signaling pathways, resulting in human health problems such as dysfuction of reproduction and carcinogenesis. In this study, we investigated whethe...

Benzophenones are organic chemicals widely used as stabilizers to UV light irradiation in plastic surface coatings and food packaging. They have been known that their derivatives appear to have cytotoxic effects. 2-Hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone (Benzophenone-3, BP-3) and its metabolite, 2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone (Benzophenone-1, BP-1), are used mostly in the formulation of nail polishes, enamels, bath products, sunscreens and skin care products. In this study, the estrogenic e...