Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Self-administration of anabolic steroids among bodybuilders is an underestimated problem, often not admitted by patients.Case presentaation: A 19 year old male (planning to study medicine!) presented with gynaecomastia, general malaise and erectile problems. Investigations revealed acute hepatitis: ALT 2125 U/L [Ref. range (RR)<45] and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism: LH – 1.6 IU/L [RR: 1.5-9.3], testosterone 0.214 ng/mL [RR: 2.49-8.36...

Phosphate is an essential ion for mineralization of bone. Hypophosphatemia leads to rickets and osteomalacia whereas hyperphosphatemia promotes ectopic calcification in soft tissues. FGF23 is a polypeptide hormone secreted by bone that regulates serum phosphate concentration. It acts on kidney to decrease phosphate reabsorption, and 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D secretion which in turn reduces phosphorus absorption by the gut. Its action on the renal tubule appears to require PTH a...

Increased deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) components such as collagens and hyaluronan is associated with diet-induced insulin resistance (IR) in skeletal muscle. Studies of the role of specific ECM components in muscle IR have been pivotal but incomplete. Here we used an approach (i.e. ECM-specific mass spectrometry-based proteomics) that gives a more complete view of ECM protein abundance with muscle IR. Male C57BL/6 mice were fed with either a chow or high fat (HF) ...

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) regulates secretion of the reproductive hormones luteinising hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in mammals. Homologs of GnRH have been identified in protostomian and deuterostomian invertebrates, and functional studies suggest an ancient role in regulation of reproductive physiology. The aim of this study was to characterise for the first time a GnRH-type signalling system in an echinoderm, using the starfish Asterias ...

Background: Corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) plays a critical role in regulating glucocorticoid bioavailability. During inflammation, plasma CBG behaves as an acute phase “negative” protein due to the down-regulation of hepatic SerpinA6 (Cbg) expression and proteolytic cleavage of CBG. CBG contains a protease-cleavage domain (RCL) that promotes the release of CBG-bound steroids at sites of inflammation. Using an established adjuvant induced art...

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a widespread endocrine disruptor commonly used by plastic industries. More than 95% of the world population contains BPA (ng/ml) in biological fluids raising the question of its activity and potential adverse effects. Anecdotally, molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH), an enamel pathology affecting 15–18% of children, is increasing concurrently with ED related pathologies. Our previous data show that BPA impacts amelogenesis and generate similar enam...

Introduction: Thyroid hormones (TH) are essential regulators of metabolism and increase energy expenditure (EE). Mitochondria-rich brown adipose tissue (BAT) is specialised in thermogenesis and significantly contributes to EE. BAT contains essential components of TH action but TH transporters like MCT8 have not been characterised so far. As direct effects on O2 consumption and mitochondrial action have not been investigated before we tested MCT8 expression and direct effects o...

The insulin signalling system including the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase (IRTK) is evolutionarily ancient. The Drosophila Melanogaster genome contains seven genes for insulin-like peptides (ILPs) that are expressed in neurosecretory cells in a highly tissue- and stage-specific pattern, DILP1–7. There is however only one IRTK (dIR). This system is important in the regulation of metabolism, growth, reproduction and lifespan. We reported in 2011 the crystal stru...

Introduction: Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is a simple, the most cost-effective, less invasive and a commonly used diagnostic tool for evaluating thyroid nodules. Recent times a tech-nique called fine-needle sampling non-aspiration (FNNA) or fine-needle capillary thyroid biopsies (FNC) has been more preferred. This technique prevents the use of suction so there is no aspiration crush and there-fore nondiagnostic outcomes are reduced. The aim of this prospective study was to co...

Aim: The purpose of this study was to analysis BRAF V600E mutational status in papillary thyroid microcarcinomas (PTMCs) and unknown malignant potential thyroid tumors (UMP-TTs) and to investigate association of BRAF V600 positivity with clinicopathologic parameters.Material and method: Seventy-two PTMC and 20 UMPTT tissues were included in this study. Genomic DNA was extracted from paraffin-embedded tumor tissue. The paraffin-embedded thyroid tumor samp...