Endocrine Abstracts

The X-linked genes accounting for the determination of the ovarian function are still undefined. In the last few years, a large interest has been dedicated to the BMP15 gene. BMP15 gene encodes for a TGFβ-like growth factor of oocyte origin with a critical role in female fertility in mammals and several other species. This gene maps to a locus on the short arm of X chromosome were locates several traits of TS, including ovarian failure. Several missense variations have be...

Fetal cells enter the maternal circulation during pregnancy and can persist in the maternal blood or tissues for decades, creating a physiological microchimerism. Since papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is more frequent in female gender and it is the second more frequent tumor during pregnancy, the role of persisting microchimeric cells has been investigated. Tumour tissue specimens were obtained from 62 women with PTC, 41 of whom had at least one male child before the diagnosis ...