Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Although primary aldosteronism (PA) is the common cause of hypertension subjected to surgery, methods of pathological confirmation of aldosterone overproduction have not been established. Aim of the study was to investigate immunohistochemically the expression of CYP11B2 in the adrenal tissue of PA.Methods: Twenty five patients with PA including 20 patients with aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) and 5 patients without APA (non-APA) were stu...

Myocardin-related transcription factor (MRTF)-A is a Rho signaling-responsive co-activator of serum response factor (SRF). In this study we investigated roles of MRTF-A in the process underlying vascular diseases by using two different mouse models of vascular diseases. MRTF-A expression was significantly higher in the wire-injured femoral arteries of wild-type mice and in the atherosclerotic aortic tissues of ApoE−/− mice than in healthy control tissues...

Introduction: Recent studies have elucidated that C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), a member of natriuretic peptide family, is a potent stimulator of endochondral bone growth; CNP and its membranous guanylyl cyclase receptor, GC-B are expressed in growth plate, and mice with targeted overexpression of CNP in growth plate exhibit prominent skeletal overgrowth, whereas CNP or GC-B knockout mice develop severely short stature phenotype owing to their impaired endochondral bone gr...

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most common cause of secondary hypertension. Although decline in renal function especially that experienced after adrenalectomy (ADX) has been demonstrated, details of the mechanism remain to be elucidated. Aim of the study was to investigate the factors predicting renal outcome after ADX in PA. Twenty patients with PA and four patients with non-functioning adrenal tumor (NFT) as control were studied. eGFR, serum potassium, plasma aldosterone ...

Type 1 iodothyronine deiodinase (D1), a selenoenzyme that catalyzes the bioactivation of thyroid hormone, is expressed mainly in the liver. Its expression and activity are modulated by several factors, but the precise mechanism of its transcriptional regulation remains unclear. In the present study, we have analyzed the promoter of human D1 (hDIO1) gene to identify factors that prevalently increase D1 activity in the human liver. Deletion and mutation analyses demonstrated tha...

Introduction: It is critical to consider species differences in translating the findings of obesity-model animals into human pathophysiology. Leptin plays an important role in regulating energy homeostasis. Although much has been learned from genetically obese leptin deficient Lepob/Lepob mice, some flaws were noted in mice as animal models for human diabetes.Methods: To develop a rat leptin-deficient mod...

Introduction: Markedly decreased plasma leptin concentrations in patients with lipodystrophy commonly lead to overeating. Leptin-replacement therapy improves feeding behavior in these patients. The aim of the present study is to clarify neural networks influenced by leptin signals for appetite regulation in the patients with lipodystrophy.Methods: We measured neural responses to visual food stimuli by use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) a...

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type2 (MEN 2) (OMIM 171400) is an autosomal dominant inherited cancer syndrome caused by activating mutations in the RET proto-oncogene. MEN 2 is classified into three subtypes: MEN 2A, MEN 2B and familial medullary thyroid carcinoma(FMTC). MEN 2B accounts for 5–10% of MEN2 cases. More than 95% of MEN 2B patients carry M918T mutation of RET, and 2–3% harbor A883F mutation. There has been three reports of cases with MEN 2B phenotype caused...

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a major cause of secondary hypertension. Among PA, the diagnosis of an aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) is critical because an APA can be cured surgically. Adrenal venous sampling (AVS) is the golden standard test in the diagnosis of an APA, but is available only in specialized medical centers. Meanwhile, aldosterone secretion of an APA is reported to be more sensitive to ACTH than that of idiopathic hyperaldosteronism (IHA) or essential hypert...