Endocrine Abstracts

An increasing body of evidence demonstrates that growth factor networks are highly interactive with oestrogen receptor (ER) signalling in the pathogenesis of a number of common cancer types, including breast cancer. Thus several growth factor-induced protein kinases are able to target and phosphorylate key regulatory sites within the ER and its co-activating proteins, a process that enables the activity of the ER as a nuclear transcription factor. It is believed that when aber...

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) acts via its specific membrane-bound guanylyl cyclase receptor, GC-B, to stimulate cGMP production. Stimulation of cGMP impinges upon PKG and PKA signalling, leading to cell proliferation and cell cycle events. In endothelial cells, CNP is thought to perform a predominantly anti-mitogenic role, but the role of CNP on cell proliferation, cell cycle and DNA synthesis in pituitary cell lines has yet to be established. Using the mouse gonadotroph-d...

Neoangiogenesis is essential for tumor development. Hypoxia inducible factor (HIF), a transcriptional factor composed of two subunits (α and β) plays a key role in this process, activating proangiogenic factors, such as VEGF. The HIF α subunits are critically regulated by oxygen but also modulated by growth factors. Kaposi Sarcoma (KS) is a highly vascular tumor which releases large amounts of VEGF and for which we have recently described an essential role for I...