Endocrine Abstracts

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare and aggressive tumour with a poor prognosis, characterized by radio/chemotherapy resistance. The lack of an effective medical treatment is due to the poor knowledge of the mechanisms underlying malignant tumour transformation and aggressiveness. In vitro studies on the ACC H295R cell model have demonstrated that RGZ, an antidiabetic drug belonging to the thiazolidinedione ligands of PPARgamma, blocks cell proliferation/migration ...

Germline mutations in the RET gene cause MEN2, an inherited cancer syndrome associated with medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). We performed genetic analysis on DNA from whole blood of a 58 yr old female affected by a multifocal MTC. Exons 10, 11, 13, 15 and 16 of RET gene were amplified by PCR using specific primers and characterised by direct automatic sequencing. Here, we report a new RET point mutation: a heterozigous missense mutation Y606C, a G to A nucleotide substitutio...

Besides their well-known anti-diabetic effects, the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) thiazolidinedione ligands (TZD) have been suggested to also display anti-inflammatory properties. The receptor role in mediating such effects is far from being elucidated. Here, we demonstrate that PPARγ is necessary for TZD to interfere with TNFα and IFNγ inflammatory activity in human endothelial cells. Different PPARγ ligands similarly inhib...

The exposure of cells to high glucose concentrations is considered a determinant of diabetic neuropathy. Conversely, members of the Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF) system are well known neurotrophic factors. Here, we investigated the effects of constant and intermittent high glucose concentrations on IGF-I and IGF Binding Proteins (IGFBPs) in human neuroblast long-term cell cultures (FNC). We first demonstrated that FNC express the IGF-I receptor, and express and release in t...

Microvascular endothelium is one of the main character and target involved in the inflammatory response. Upon specific activation, endothelial cells massively recruit Th1 IFNgamma secreting lymphocytes at the inflammatory site. In the present study, we investigate the intracellular signalling mediating TNFalpha (T) and IFNgamma (I) inflammatory response in a human endothelial cell line (HMEC-1) in vitro and the interfering effects of rosiglitazone (RGZ), a peroxisome pr...

Thyroid hormones (TH) play a fundamental role during brain development by modulating the expression of different genes involved in neuronal differentiation, proliferation, migration, myelinization, and synapse formation. Seladin-1 (for SELective Alzheimer’s Disease INdicator-1) is a recently identified anti-apoptotic gene, which has been found to be down-regulated in brain regions affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We hypothesized that seladin-1 might be a ...

White adipose tissue acts as an endocrine organ that secretes a variety of adipokines and coordinates a number of biological processes such as energy homeostasis, neuroendocrine and immune functions. Recent studies demonstrated that abundant adipose tissue depots (particularly visceral adipose tissue), by producing inflammatory cytokines, contribute to chronic low-grade inflammation processes which may underlie the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders such as obesity, atheroscl...