Endocrine Abstracts

Human bone marrow stromal cells (hMSC) contain a population of stem cells known as skeletal (mesenchymal) stem cells that are capable for differentiation into several mesodermal-type lineages including osteoblasts, adipocytes and chondrocytes. The aim of our research program is to understand the biological characteristics of hMSC so that it is possible to make full use of them in the context of clinical applications. The following topics will be discussed: i) approaches to iso...

The aim of this symposium is to introduce and to discuss current concepts regarding stem cells and their potential use in therapy with special focus on endocrinological applications. Stem cells are defined by their ability for self-renewal and multilineage differentiation. They are classified into embryonic and adult (tissue-specific) stem cells. Derivation, characterization and testing the functional activities of stem cells in vitro and vivo will be discussed. ...

Background: Also known as preadipocyte factor 1 (pref-1) or delta-like 1 (Dlk1), fetal antigen 1 (FA1) was originally isolated from amniotic fluid and it is involved in tissue homeostatis during development and tissue regeneration in the post-natal organisms. FA1 may also plays a role in energy metabolism since mice deficient in FA1 are obese and mice overexpressing FA1 exhibit a lipodystrophy phenotype.In our study we determined FA1 serum levels in pati...

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by the loss of bone density and deficits in bone microarchitecture. “Diabetoporosity” is a new term for osteoporosis in diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM) patients, where classical tools for the assessment of bone properties like dual x-ray absorptiometry or bone turnover markers are lacking prognostic accuracy for the determination of bone quality and fracture risk.MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are get...