Endocrine Abstracts

Investigations of skeletal dysplasias which are often inherited have yielded important insights in the molecular mechanisms of bone development, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. However, these studies have been hampered by the lack of available patients and affected families. To overcome this limitation, we have investigated mice treated with the chemical mutagen N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) for hereditary musculoskeletal disorders. Mice were kept in accordance wi...

Abnormalities of calcium homeostasis such as secondary or tertiary hyperparathyroidism, and renal osteodystrophy often occur in patients with kidney failure. However, investigations of the underlying molecular mechanisms have been hampered by the lack of available tissues from patients and the lack of suitable animal models. We therefore sought to overcome this limitation by investigating mice treated with the chemical mutagen N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea and identified...

Investigations of bone disorders which are often inherited have yielded important insights in the molecular mechanisms of bone development, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. However, these studies have been hampered by the lack of available patients and affected families. To overcome this limitation, we have investigated mice treated with the chemical mutagen N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) for hereditary bone disorders. Mice were kept in accordance with national welf...

Introduction: Skeletal muscle cells enable investigation of myogenesis and metabolic function in vitro. Exposure to human serum can provide insight into the impact of endocrine factors upon differentiation and mitochondrial function of skeletal muscle. The aim of these experiments was to optimise the culture conditions using human serum, which it was hypothesised would enhance myogenesis and mitochondrial function of LHCN-M2 human skeletal muscle cells.<p class="a...

Aldosterone and glucocorticoids stimulate sodium transport by the renal tubule, which is important for blood pressure homeostasis. Corticosteroid excess and/or abnormal steroid hormone activity within the kidney can cause hypertension. Circulatory and urinary steroid concentrations can be measured routinely but steroid concentrations at a tissue and cellular level are largely unknown, and the kidney remains a “black box”. Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) permits local...

The screening and monitoring of intestinal diseases still provides challenges within in vivo and clinical research. For example, patients with Crohn’s disease will typically have a biannual endoscopic examination – this invasive procedure is distressing for patients and hence its frequency is limited at the expense of sufficient monitoring of pathological progression. Modalities such as CT and MRI can image the GI tract, however, they are ionising, which nor...

Introduction: Pulmonary NENs account for around 2% of all pulmonary malignancy. They are classified histologically into 4 types typical and atypical carcinoids which are generally well differentiated and large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) and small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) which are poorly differentiated. Within the literature there are several reports regarding overall survival on small mainly surgical cohorts, but data for the UK population are lacking. Only a few...

Objective: We reviewed clinical and biochemical characteristics and post-operative outcomes in patients undergoing surgery for PHA in UHS between January 2014 and June 2022 (8.5-year period).Results: 17 patients (41% female, mean age 45y) underwent adrenalectomy for PHA during this period. 5/17 (29%) required admissions related to PHA, 7/17 had blood pressure (BP) of ≥ 200 mmol/Hg, 11/17 (65%) potassium ≤3 mmol/l, 5/17 required ≥ 4 BP a...

Blood pressure homeostasis is regulated via renal sodium reabsorption by aldosterone and glucocorticoids, although the role of glucocorticoids is less clear. High-salt diets lead to suppression of aldosterone in plasma, but changes in available ligands for the mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors in kidney subregions are unknown. Hypothetically, high-salt intake modifies aldosterone and corticosterone amounts in specific kidney subregions. Kidney cryosections from ma...

Background: Adipose tissue exhibits an altered adipokine secretion profile in obesity which is pro-inflammatory and relates to higher risk of cardio-metabolic diseases. Asprosin is a novel pleiotropic adipokine with orexigenic and glucogenic effects which is secreted in response to fasting. Elevated circulating asprosin levels have been shown in obesity and type 2 diabetes, as well as in other cardio-metabolic diseases. Furthermore, in vitro studies have reported pro-...