Endocrine Abstracts

Obesity (OB) is caused by an energy imbalance that finally leads to adipose tissue dysfunction, and the appearance of multiple comorbidities, such as certain cancer types, including prostate cancer (PCa), which is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in men population worldwide. In this context, periprostatic adipose tissue (PPAT) has recently gained increased attention as a key regulator of the pathophysiological relationship between OB and PCa. However, it has b...

A growing number of studies suggest that extracellular fragments derived from plasma membrane receptors can play relevant functional roles in the development and progression of certain tumoral pathologies which might, therefore, serve as novel tools in the diagnostic and prognostic of such pathologies. In this scenario, the truncated somatostatin receptor sst5TMD4, which is overexpressed in various endocrine-related cancers (i.e. breast, prostate, neuroendocrine, liver and pit...

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and type-2 diabetes (T2D) development is critically affected by the loss of phenotypic flexibility (i.e. the difficulty to cope with stressors to maintain metabolic homeostasis). Thus, it is essential to identify key modifiers of phenotypic plasticity that define individual susceptibility to develop T2D. Particularly, there is emerging evidence that alternative mRNA splicing is dysregulated under adverse metabolic-conditions, such as T2D, in several t...

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are uncommon neoplasms with increasing incidence and limited therapeutic options, wherein identification of new diagnostic/prognostic/therapeutic biomarkers is urgently required. Alterations in somatostatin (SST)/cortistatin (CORT) and ghrelin systems have been associated to development/progression of several cancers. Thus, we evaluated expression levels of SST/CORT/ghrelin system components in gastroenteropancreatic-neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs...

Somatostatin (SST) and cortistatin (CORT) are two highly related neuropeptides involved in the regulation of several endocrine secretions. In particular, SST and CORT are two primary negative regulators of GH secretion. Consequently, SST or CORT knockout (KO) mice exhibit elevated GH levels; however, this does not lead to increased IGF-I levels or somatic growth, which has been suggested that could be due to a compensatory mechanism between both peptides. In order to test this...

Acromegaly is caused by excessive GH secretion from pituitary adenomas. Transphenoidal surgery is the first-choice treatment, but new drug therapies (e.g. somatostatin analogues, SSA) offer promising avenues for medical treatment. Complementary diagnostic tools may assist this strategy, helping to refine drug choice. Here, we investigate the associations between radiological features and molecular phenotype of pituitary tumours from acromegalic patients. This observational stu...

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) are uncommon neoplasms from the endocrine pancreas, whose incidence is recently rising. Unfortunately, an advanced stage is often found at diagnosis; thus, identification of new molecular diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic markers is required. Ghrelin and somatostatin/cortistatin systems are two multifunctional regulatory complexes widely distributed throughout multiple tissues, including the pancreas, where they exert diverse (pat...

The presence of the truncated somatostatin receptor sst5TMD4 has been correlated with poor prognosis in breast cancer tumorsand its overexpression in breast cancer derived cell lines is associated with increased cell malignancy. The objective of this study was to examine the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this association in order to identify new molecular targets for diagnosis, prognosis or therapy of these tumors. Accordingly, in this study, a breast cancer der...

ESE Young Investigator AwardIntroduction: GH and IGF1 are thought to promote breast carcinogenesis as circulating levels of GH/IGF1 are positively correlated with breast cancer risk in epidemiologic studies, and mouse models with developmental GH/IGF1 deficiency or resistance are less susceptible to breast cancer development. However, no studies have shown that high levels of circulating GH/IGF1 can promote mammary tumorigenesis. In this...

Somatostatin receptors (sst1–sst5) comprise a family of G-protein-coupled, 7 transmembrane domain (TMD) receptors encoded by five separate, intronless genes widely distributed throughout the organism. Somatostatin (SST) and cortistatin (CORT), two highly-related cyclic neuropeptides, bind to sst1–sst5 with comparable subnanomolar affinity to exert a number of (patho)physiological actions, from inhibition of endocrine secretions (e.g. GH and insulin), to the control o...