Endocrine Abstracts

The effects in vitro and in vivo of somatostatin (SS) analogues are linked to the presence of specific binding sites on target cells. Estradiol (E2) may modulate the expression of SS receptors (SSTR) in some cell models, including breast cancer and pituitary cells. Aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of E2 on SSTR1-5 ligand binding domains (LBD) expression levels in prostate epithelial cells (PEC).Methods: We investigated the effe...

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...

Kallmann syndrome (KS) is characterized by hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and other non-reproductive disorders including smell deficiency due to olfactory bulb developmental abnormalities. The aim of our study was to evaluate retrospectively the role of MRI in patients with clinical diagnosis of KS, searching for any abnormalities of the brain structures involved.Methods: We evaluated 25 KS pts (14–32 years, 4F, 21 M). KS cases were classified as hyp...

Classical somatostatin analogues (SST-A), such as octreotide and lanreotide, bind mainly SSTR2 whilst the multiligand pasireotide binds with the highest affinity SSTR5. The selective immunodetection of ligand binding domain (LBD) of SSTR subtypes with specific monoclonal antibodies may be useful to explain the potential efficacy of different SSTA on pituitary tumours growth and/or secretory activity.Patients and Methods: We applied new monoclonal antibod...