Endocrine Abstracts

Normal position of the testes at term birth is on the bottom of the scrotum. In 2–9% of newborn boys, the testes have failed to descend normally (cryptorchidism), and at the age of three months, 1–3% of all boys remain cryptorchid. Thereafter spontaneous descent occurs rarely, whereas testicular ascent starts to appear and acquired cryptorchidism becomes a problem almost as often as congenital disorder. Cryptorchidism is associated with an increased risk of testicula...

Introduction: Up to 10% of patients with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) may undergo reversal of hypogonadotropism and some of them even attain normal sperm count in adulthood. However, clinical and molecular genetic features of these patients and the triggers leading to reversal of HH are not well understood. We studied whether Finnish reversal variants displayed a common phenotypic or genotypic feature that would predict the clinical course of HH.<p class="...

We have earlier shown a reciprocal feed-forward amplification link between expression of transcription factor GATA-4 and luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR) during adrenocortical tumorigenesis, and also that chronically elevated LH levels may induce LHR in mice, but not GATA-4. Hereby, our goal was to analyze the consequences of ectopically expressed GATA-4 on murine adrenal cortex in the presence and absence of gonadectomy (GDX) induced elevated LH levels. For this purpose, we...

The adipose tissue is an active endocrine organ involved in the control not only of metabolism and energy balance, but also of other relevant body functions, including reproduction. Adiponectin is an adipocyte hormone, with relevant roles in lipid metabolism and glucose homeostasis, recently involved in the control of different endocrine organs, such as the placenta, pituitary and, likely, the ovary. However, whether as described previously for other adipokines, such as leptin...