Endocrine Abstracts

Nucleotide receptors can be classified into two groups: P1 receptors where adenosine is the primary ligand, and P2 receptors where the main ligands are ATP, ADP, UTP and UDP. The presence of the P2 family members in osteoblasts and osteoclasts has been known for some time, but there have been no published studies on the role of adenosine in bone physiology.We have demonstrated the presence of the four P1 adenosine receptor subtypes (A1, A...

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is the most common childhood cancer. Given dramatic improvements in survival rate (>80%), long term quality of life is of rising concern. Skeletal complications including osteonecrosis (ON) are being reported more frequently, affecting up to 38% of children treated for ALL though the pathogenesis is unclear.The purpose of this study is to examine possible mechanisms causing ON. We hypothesize that polychemotherapy ...

GH has diverse direct effects including the induction of lipolysis in adipocytes and mineralisation in bone. Interestingly, pluripotent mesenchymal stem cells can be isolated and cultured from adult bone marrow and induced to differentiate in vitro to both adipocytes and osteoblasts. GHR activation can be coupled to JAK2/STAT5 and the ERK (MAPK) pathway. We have therefore studied the evolution of GHR-associated cell signalling in adult rat BMSC’s during differentia...