Endocrine Abstracts

Activation of the Ras/ERK pathway and stimulation of proliferation by integrins in thyroid cells requires CaMKII activation. To date, whether this role of CaMKII is a general mechanism or is restricted to integrin signalling is unknown. As oncogenic activation of the Ras/ERK pathway by mutated Ras, RET/PTC and Trk is frequent in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), we investigated the expression and activation level of CaMKII in PTC primary culture and in stable cell lines.<...

Liver X receptors (LXRalfa and LXRalfa) act on the cholesterol homeostasis in several tissues, including adrenals. In particular, LXRalfa regulates the expression of several genes involved in the cholesterol efflux and storage and modulates glucocorticoid synthesis in mice. The level of the expression of LXRs in the human adrenal adenomas is unknown. We evaluated LXRalfa and LXRbeta mRNA levels in cortisol-secreting adenomas (CSA) and in the surrounding normal tissue, obtained...

The stable somatostatin analog octreotide has been successfully used for imaging and treatment of a variety of human tumors. Octreotide treatment has been reported of limited value in pheochromocytoma (PHEO). PHEOs often express more than one somatostatin receptor, and it is uncertain by which receptor subtype the functional responses of octreotide are mediated. A recent study showed by immunohistochemical staining that vast majority of tumors (90%) were positive for sst(3), i...

The role of CNVs in male infertility is poorly defined, and only those linked to the Y chromosome have been the object of extensive research. Although it has been predicted that the X chromosome is also enriched in spermatogenesis genes, no clinically relevant gene mutations have been identified so far. In order to advance our understanding of the role of X-linked genetic factors in male infertility, we applied high resolution X chromosome specific array-CGH in 199 men with di...

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a common condition among liver transplanted patients and it contributes to late morbidity and mortality by favoring the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD).The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of MS in the first 6 months after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) and the associated pre-operative and post-operative risk factors.Methods: Seventy-one cirrhotic patients wer...

Background: The penis has been compared to a barometer of endothelial health, being erectile dysfunction (ED) an early sign of endothelial dysfunction. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between ED and endothelial dysfunction in patients with HIV infection on ART.Methods: In this observational cross-sectional study we evaluated the prevalence and factors associated with ED in a cohort of 133 HIV-infected men. Evaluation tools include...

Introduction: Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is a dominantly inherited disease characterized by colorectal adenomas, extracolonic gastrointestinal manifestations and extraintestinal diseases. Among them, differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is considered very frequent with an approximately risk 160 times higher than in general population, and with a prevalence of the cribriform-morular variant. As this esteem comes from scattered data, we evaluated in a prospective contro...