Endocrine Abstracts

Objectives: Differentiation of orbital fibroblasts (OFs) into myofibroblastic phenotype contributes to tissue remodelling in thyroid eye disease (TED). Our study aimed to investigate the impact of TGF-β1 induced myofibroblast differentiation on hyaluronan turnover, with a particular focus on the expression of its key enzymes.Methods: OF cultures were established from tissue samples acquired from decompression surgeries of patients with TED (TED-OFs;...

Introduction: During the course of thyroid eye disease (TED) immune cells infiltrate the orbital connective tissue leading to overstimulation of orbital fibroblasts (OFs). In the persistent inflammatory environment, OFs differentiate into myofibroblasts or adipocytes, simultaneously creating two phenotypes with different morphology and function. Activated OFs secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines and growth factors and contribute to the prolonged inflammation, among other things ...

Objectives: Glucocorticoids (GCs) are the first line therapy in moderate to severe, active thyroid eye disease (TED). While their beneficial immunosuppressive effects are well known, direct connective tissue effects are less characterized. The accumulation of extracellular matrix component hyaluronan (HA) and increased proliferation rate of fibroblasts are hallmarks connective tissue changes in TED. We examined the effect of methylprednisolone (MP), prednisolone (P), hydrocort...

Graves’ orbitopathy (GO) is a common complication of Graves’ disease (GD) which is often responding poorly to therapy. GO may develop before or together with, or during the course of GD. In an individual patient, the development of GO cannot be predicted. We assumed that orbital autoimmune activity is predictable using orbital 99mTc-labelled diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (99mTc-DTPA) SPECT. We aimed to determine whether any orbital autoimmune activity can be id...

Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) cells and immune cells can kill each other by death ligands. Death ligands induce apoptosis only in sensitive cells. The sensitivity to apoptosis is regulated in a complex and poorly understood manner. The aim of this study was to investigate the Fas ligand (FasL) and Tumor Necrosis Factor-Related Apoptosis Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) expression in PTC cells and tumor infiltrating immune cells. Twenty-six PTCs without and fifteen PTCs with cervical l...

Introduction: In the pathogenesis of thyroid eye disease (TED) activated fibroblasts in the orbital connective tissue show increased proliferation, hyaluronan (HA) production, and adipogenic differentiation potential. As a result of these, the orbital tissue volume expands and the intraorbital pressure increases. Mechanical stimuli, including high intraorbital pressure, may lead to the activation of mechanosensitive receptors, such as Piezo1, whose presence in orbital fibrobla...