Endocrine Abstracts

Hyperthyroidism is common affecting up to 2% of the UK population and the prevalence is highest in young and middle-aged women. Although patients may have clinical symptoms suggestive of hyperthyroidism, rates of undiagnosed hyperthyroidism range from 0.5 to 1.5%, especially in the elderly. We investigated 3563 UK patients to (i) assess the influence of ageing on clinical signs and symptoms and (ii) identify symptoms and signs indicating hyperthyroidism in different age groups...

We have previously shown Pituitary Tumor Transforming Gene (PTTG) and basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF-2) to be upregulated in thyroid cancer. PTTG requires interaction with the protein PBF (PTTG Binding Factor) to stimulate FGF-2 secretion, and hence promote tumour angiogenesis and growth. We now report that PBF is also upregulated in hyperplastic and neoplastic thyroid tissues compared with normal thyroid (N=11) (2.6-fold in multinodular goitre (N=25, P=0.002), and 3.3-fo...

Introduction: Obesity is a growing health concern in developed countries. Patients undergoing treatment for hyperthyroidism frequently express concerns regarding excessive weight gain, especially when offered treatment with I-131.Methods: We investigated 1047 patients with overt hyperthyroidism attending a specialist thyroid clinic to determine the extent of weight changes and to identify risk factors for weight gain following treatment. Weight differenc...

We have previously shown PTTG and PBF to be over-expressed in differentiated thyroid cancer and to be prognostic indicators for recurrence. Subsequently we reported PBF to be a transforming gene in vitro and tumourigenic in vivo. Since over-expression of PTTG results in the same findings, we examined whether PBF-induced tumourigenesis was an independent effect, or else a result of increased PTTG activity. Two HA-tagged mutants of PBF were generated, firstly subst...

During mitosis, temporal release of separase from its inhibitor securin results in cohesin cleavage, thereby promoting anaphase. The developing fetal brain has rapidly proliferating neuronal cells whilst adult neurons no longer proliferate. When comparing 61 fetal and 12 adult human brain samples, we found significantly increased separase mRNA and protein throughout ontogeny and reduced securin expression in fetal brain compared with adult. Using MTT assays, we examined the ef...

1500 euthyroid patients (1302 females and 198 males, mean age 47.8) presenting with thyroid enlargement were evaluated by fine needle aspiration (FNAC) of the thyroid as the first line investigation. The final cytological or histological diagnosis was determined after surgery (n=556) or clinical follow-up for a minimum period of 2 years (mean 9.5 yrs, range 2-19 years). Goitre type was assessed clinically and classified as diffuse in 184, multinodular in 457 or solitary nodule...

During the metaphase to anaphase transition of mitosis, destruction of the human securin, pituitary tumor-transforming gene (PTTG), and subsequent activation of the cysteine endopeptidase separase, leads to the cleavage of RAD21, a component protein of the cohesin complex. The developing fetal brain has rapidly proliferating neuronal cells, whilst adult neurons no longer proliferate and are maintained in G0 status of the cell cycle. We have previously investigated the expressi...

We have previously shown PTTG binding factor (PBF) to be a transforming gene both in vitro and in vivo, forming colonies in soft agar and tumours in nude mice. We have found that along with PTTG, PBF is upregulated in thyroid cancer and is also a prognostic indicator for recurrence. As our cohort of thyroid cancers showed significantly reduced sodium iodide symporter (NIS) expression compared to normal thyroid (47% reduction, N=27, P=0.005), which was negatively ...

During early development, the extravillous and villous placenta form by a process of proliferation and differentiation resulting in invasion of the uterine decidua and myometrium. The invasion of tissues during placentation is a model for the proliferative and invasive processes which occur during tumourogenesis. Pituitary tumor transforming gene (PTTG) interacts with a binding factor PBF, and PTTG expression correlates with tumor invasiveness in many neoplasms. We hypothesise...

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a significant cause of perinatal morbidity, in particular neurodevelopmental delay, and is associated with fetal hypothyroxinemia. Thyroid hormone is essential for the optimal development of the central nervous system (CNS) in the fetus. Transport of the active ligand triiodothyronine (T3) across the cell membrane is required for its biological effects, initiated by binding of T3 to nuclear thyroid receptors (TR). Recently, the membran...