Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Osteoporosis is a disease usually associated with postmenopausal women and men over sixty. Little is known about the long-term course of early-onset osteoporosis and the factors affecting fracture risk and bone density(T-score).Objectives: Factors that cause osteoporosis or aggravate its progression in younger patients are less studied than in older patients. Data are lacking on treatment choice, adherence and effectiveness. Our study group p...

Background: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are endocrine disrupting chemicals, with elimination half-lives ranging from four to eight years. Experimental studies found PFAS able to interfere with thyroid hormone-binding proteins. During the first 20 weeks of gestation (GW), the fetus is reliant on placental transfer of maternal thyroid hormones, mainly free thyroxine (FT4). However, previous studies investigating associations between exposure to PFAS and thyroid hormone stat...

Introduction: Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte disorder and the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (SIAD) is one of its main causes. However, treatment options for chronic SIAD-induced hyponatremia are inadequate. This is problematic because hyponatremia has been associated with neurocognitive deficits, although there is little data on its reversibility. We previously showed that the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor empagliflozin is a promising s...

Introduction: Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is a glycoprotein that support reproduction by regulating ovarian follicular growth and development. Recent studies demonstrated that proliferative signals mediating folliculogenesis are mediated by the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) expressed in ovarian tissues throughout the follicular phase. In granulosa cells, GPER forms heteromers with FSHR, reprogramming cAMP-induced death signals to AKT-dependent, anti-apoptot...

Introduction: Type 5 phosphodiesterase (PDE5) inhibitors (PDE5i) lead to intracellular cyclic-guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) increase and are used for clinical treatment of erectile dysfunction. Studies found that cGMP may up/downregulate the growth of certain endocrine tumor cells, suggesting that the use of PDE5i could impact the risk of certain tumors, such as colorectal cancer.Aim: We evaluated if PDE5i may impact thyroid cancer cell growth in vi...

In the ovary, the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) forms heteromeric complexes with the follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR), reprogramming FSH-induced signals and determining the follicular fate. Based on the structural similarity, we evaluated whether GPER interacts with the luteinizing hormone (LH)/choriogonadotropin (hCG) receptor (LHCGR) modulating gonadotropin-dependent signals. LHCGR-GPER heteromers were evaluated in transiently transfected HEK293 cell...

Thyroid cancer is the most common type of endocrine tumor and reaches the peak of incidence between the age of twenty and fifty years. It has 4-fold higher prevalence in females than males, suggesting that estrogens and their receptors could be involved in thyroid cancer pathogenesis. Previous studies demonstrated allosteric interference operated by G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) to molecules structurally similar to the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor (T...

Background: There have been conflicting reports on fertility, reproduction rates and pregnancy outcomes in women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Identification of potential modifiable influential factors of pregnancy outcomes in these women has been hampered in the past by either small sample sizes or data derived from epidemiological samples.Methods: Retrospective multi-center study including a total number of 72 women with CAH (n=34...

Introduction: Patients with arginine vasopressin deficiency (AVP-D), known as central diabetes insipidus (cDI), often report psychological symptoms such as heightened anxiety levels, difficulties describing emotions, and depressed mood despite adequate treatment with desmopressin. Given the anatomical proximity, disruptions of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis causing an AVP-D could also disturb the oxytocin (OXT) system. OXT regulates socio-emotional functioning, including fear...

Androgens are sex steroid hormones fundamental for human reproduction. In males, they are produced upon luteinizing hormone (LH) action through its specific receptor (LHCGR) expressed in Leydig cells, supporting spermatogenesis. The human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), acting on the same receptor but not expressed in men, is administered to improve testosterone synthesis in specific pathological contexts, such as hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and cryptorchidism. In vitro</e...