Endocrine Abstracts

Defective signalling by insulin-like molecules is not only a fundamental characteristic of diabetes, but is also associated with the majority of human tumours, where signalling is typically hyperactivated. Although both these diseases have a significant genetic component, we are still some distance from identifying all the genes and cellular mechanisms affected.We and other groups use the powerful genetics of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster...

The common autoimmune endocrinopathies are caused by susceptibility alleles at several genetic loci including MHC, CTLA4, PTPN22 and probably several others. Many of these susceptibility alleles are shared between several different autoimmune disorders including type 1 diabetes, autoimmune thyroid diseases and rheumatoid arthritis. In recent months a novel susceptibility locus was identified in the 5’ end of the Fc receptor-like 3 (FCRL3) gene ...

Background: The action of a steroid in any physiological process is dependent on the bioavailable (free) fraction. Direct measurements of free cortisol are expensive, labour intensive and require a significant volume of plasma and as a consequence are not feasible in the neonate. One alternative is to calculate free cortisol from the Cortisol Binding Capacity (CBC) and the total plasma cortisol. The aim of the present study was to develop an assay for the measurement of CBC in...