Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Autoantibodies (aAB) are characteristic of autoimmune diseases, but may also be found in apparently healthy individuals and precede pathological symptoms. We have recently reported on autoantibodies against the IGF1-receptor (IGF1R-aAB) in control subjects and patients with Graves’ disease (1). The isolated aAB were able to immunoprecipitate the recombinant autoantigen and antagonized IGF1 signaling in vitro. Given the structural similarities betwee...

The quantification of TSH from a serum or plasma sample constitutes the cornerstone of assessing the thyroid axis in the clinical routine. In addition, T4 and/or T3 levels may be determined to diagnose pathological conditions. However, these data do not necessarily reflect the local action of thyroid hormone in the target tissues and are sensitive to distortion, as best known from pregnancy when chorionic gonadotropin disturbs the regular feedback control. Recently, we identif...

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex chronic metabolic disease characterized by elevated blood glucose levels due to insulin resistance and the failure of pancreatic beta cells to compensate. T2D and its complications have reached epidemic proportions worldwide over the past four decades [1]. A very rare condition known as Type B Insulin Resistance (TBIR) is characterized by severe insulin resistance and the presence of circulating autoantibodies (autoAb) directed...

Objective: Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) has a crucial role in growth and metabolism. A specifically designed autoantibody (aAb) assay against the IGF1 receptor (IGF1R-aAb) is able to detect IGF1R-aAb in serum. As the IGF1R has shown involvement in many functional pathologies (e.g. in the Laron syndrome), we aimed to investigate the role of IGF1R-aAb in a large population-based cohort of middle-aged volunteers and their potential effects on anthropometric, osteological a...

Introduction: The thyroid hormone (TH) status is routinely assessed by thyrotropin (TSH) and thyroxine (T4). Both biomarkers are mainly regulated by thyroid hormone receptor beta, whereas many peripheral organs employ the alpha receptor. Serum CD5L is a liver-derived protein under control of both TH receptor isoforms, but the data base is small [1]. An additional biomarker of TH status is needed in particular during pregnancy, where the routine biomarkers become dynamically di...