Endocrine Abstracts

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a rare tumor arising from neural crest-derived parafollicular C cells. MTC occurs either in sporadic or familial form. A key role in the development of MTC is played by the RET proto-oncogene, as virtually all familial and half sporadic MTC cases feature RET point mutations. These mutations lead to the constitutive activation of the RET kinase and its oncogene conversion. Mutations targeting extracellular cysteines cause disulfide-bond medi...

There are four major types of thyroid cancer: well-differentiated papillary (PTC) and follicular (FTC) carcinoma, undifferentiated anaplastic carcinoma (ATC), and neural-crest derived medullary carcinoma (MTC). In the past two decades, some genetic lesions associated with these tumor types have been unveiled, with mutations in RET and BRAF, RAS and PPARγ, RAS, BRAF and PI3K/AKT, and RET, associated to PTC, FTC, ATC and MTC, respectively. PTC and FTC patients are treated b...

Sperm energy management is poorly studied and understood. The present study provides biochemical and morphological evidence that ejaculated human sperm express the mitochondrial citrate carrier (CIC) which is restricted to the midpiece. CIC inhibition by the specific substrate analogue 1,2,3-benzenetricarboxylate (BTA) reduced cholesterol efflux, proteins tyrosine phosphorylation, P-AKT, P-P60src addressing to its functional role in sperm acquisition of fe...

Background: Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in Western countries and identifies people at high risk to develop metabolic and cardiovascular disease. Fatty liver has been associated with reduced endogenous insulin clearance (EIC) and hepatic insulin resistance (HIRI), which are early features of type 2 diabetes. These relationships however might be differentially affected by the ethnic background, as populations of African ance...

Recent studies demonstrated that the calcium/calmodulin dependent kinase 2 (CaMKII) is involved in the regulation of proliferation and survival of epithelial cells, were it phosphorylates RAF-1 and modulates MAPK pathway. A endogenous CaMKII inhibitor (hCaKIINα) is expressed in some cell types. It is down-expressed in colon and in ovarian cancer where it inversely correlates with the disease extension.Aim of our study is to determine the possible ro...

Progesterone (PRG) deficiency has been linked to an increased risk of cancer, while normal levels of PRG in the body actually help protect you against some forms of cancer. The tumor suppressor role of this steroid was envisaged, however the mechanism through which this occurs was not clearly established. The effects of progesterone act via the progesterone receptor (PR) of which two isoforms, called A (PR-A) and B (PR-B) were discovered. Herein, we present a novel finding sin...

Varicocele and diabetes mellitus (DM) have long been recognized to impair male fertility by interfering with both sperm parameters and production, however the molecular mechanism by which these effects occur remains largely unknown. Cyclooxygenases are important in spermatogenesis, but their ultrastructural localization in sperm cells and their role in male infertility have not yet established in humans. In the present study we presented the evidence of constitutive (COX-1) an...

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) is a single chain oxidoreductase that catalyzes tryptophan degradation to kynurenine. In cancer, it appears to exert an immunosuppressive function as part of an acquired mechanism of immune escape. In view of this notion, IDO1 has started to be considered a novel target in cancer therapy. Objective of this study was to evaluate IDO1 expression in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and to correlate its expression with genetic determinants of ...

Beta-HLH transcription factors are involved in the ontogenesis of neural/neuroendocrine cells, and may play a role in the pathogenesis of neuroendocrine tumours. Neurogenin 2 (Ngn2) is expressed by the developing mouse pituitary. After preliminary data indicating its expression in the normal human pituitary, we have studied its phenotypic expression in normal and adenomatous pituitary tissues.Methods: Fifty-two pituitary adenomas (PA) – 23 clinicall...

Parathyroid carcinoma (PC) is an extremely rare endocrine malignancy of the parathyroid glands, representing less than 1% of all parathyroid neoplasms. PC is characterized by an excessive secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and severe hypercalcemia. In contrast to parathyroid adenoma, the prognosis for patients with PC is poor, with an overall survival rate of 78-85% and 49-70% respectively at 5 and 10 years after diagnosis, due to the commonly unmanageable hypercalcaemia, ...