Endocrine Abstracts

Prepubertally gonadectomized (GDX) wild-type DBA/2J mice develop adrenocortical neoplasms presenting with small spindle-shaped non steroidogenic A-cells and large lipid-laden, steroidogenic and mitotically active B-cells. Neoplastic B-cells overexpress estrogen receptor α (ERα, Ers1) and β (ERβ, Ers2), aromatase (CYP19a1) and produce sex-steroids, resembling gonadal rest tissue. To test the role of estrogen-ER system in adrenocortical tumor progression, GDX...

The role of luteinizing hormone (LH) and its receptor (LHCGR) signaling in the adrenal gland remains unknown. Gonadectomy-induced chronically elevated LH levels trigger neoplastic transformation in genetically susceptible mouse strains (DBA/2J) or transgenic mice expressing the Simian Virus 40 T antigen (SV40Tag) oncogene under inhibin-α promoter (inhα/Tag). In order to study the functional role of LHR and GATA4 in the onset and progression of adrenocortical tumors i...

Adrenocortical tumorigenesis in prepubertally gonadectomized (GDX) DBA/2J mice has been attributed to chronically elevated luteinizing hormone (LH) and ectopic expression of luteinizing hormone receptor (LHCGR) and GATA-4 transcription factor. We analyzed now the mechanistic role of LH-LHCGR activation in GDX-induced adrenocortical tumorigenesis in intact and ovariectomized (OVX) wild-type (WT) and Lhcgr-/- mice in the DBA/2J genetic background mice, or by ...