Endocrine Abstracts

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one the leading causes of cancer-related deaths among men in developed countries. Therefore, identification of novel molecular and therapeutic approaches to tackle this pathology are urgently needed. In this scenario, our group has recently reported that elements of the cellular machinery controlling alternative splicing processes might be used as potential novel therapeutic tools against PCa and castration-resistant PCa (CRPC). In this context, RBM22 ...

Glioblastoma (GBM; grade IV astrocytoma) is one of the most devastating endocrine-related cancer worldwide based on its locally aggressive behavior and because it cannot be cured by current therapies. Therefore, the identification of novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, and especially efficient therapeutic targets is urgently needed. In this sense, defects in alternative splicing process are associated with poor survival and high aggressiveness in cancer, including GBM....

Hormonal signalling plays a key role in the progression of metabolic (dysfunction)-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the role of somatostatin (SST), cortistatin (CORT), neuronostatin (NST) and ghrelin systems in MAFLD-HCC progression has not yet been elucidated. We characterized the role of SST/CORT/NST and ghrelin systems in chronic liver disease and evaluated their clinical potential. The expression of the components of the SS...

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related deaths in men worldwide. Therefore, more specific non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers as well as novel therapeutic targets are urgently needed. As miRNAs have been proposed as promising elements for the identification of novel diagnostic and therapeutic tools for different pathologies, including cancer, we investigated the miRNA landscape in PCa patients and explored their putative diagnostic/therapeutic u...

Intracranial tumors (IT) comprise a heterogenous group of neoplasias (e.g., pituitary/brain tumors and craniopharyngiomas), characterized by difficult diagnosis based on MRI, challenging prognostic predictors and lack of effective therapeutic strategies. In addition, these tumors are usually associated with neurological disorders and severe comorbidities (e.g., those associated with Cushing syndrome, Acromegaly, etc.), worsening the quality life of patients. In this context, s...

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The main pharmacological strategy for this pathology is the blockade of the androgen receptor signalling pathway, commonly known as androgen-deprivation therapy. However, some of the patients does no longer respond to this hormonal therapy. Therefore, finding novel therapeutic strategies to tackle PCa, especially its most advanced phenotype [i.e., castration-resistant prostate cance...

High-grade astrocytomas (HGAs) remain the most prevalent and malignant brain tumor based on its locally aggressive behavior, being glioblastoma (grade-IV astrocytoma) the most lethal. The current standard treatment for glioblastomas consists of surgery followed by radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. However, the average period of survival is about 14 months after the first intervention. Therefore, there is a clear clinical need for the identification of novel diagnostic, prognos...

Objective and methods: Recent studies suggest that altered alternative splicing and, consequently, appearance of an abnormal splicing pattern and even of aberrant/oncogenic splicing-variants, represent a common molecular feature of most tumor pathologies, including Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumors (PitNETs). However, the putative alteration, pathophysiological role and potential therapeutic utility of splicing machinery components [i.e. spliceosome-components (SCs) and splicing...

There is increasing evidence that alterations in alternative splicing can be linked to key tumor features in cancer. Dysregulations in the splicing machinery constitute the underlying cause in many of these alterations and, consequently, splicing and its control are emerging as a novel and transversal cancer hallmark, due to its association with different dysfunctions of tumor cells. In line with this, we discovered the existence of aberrantly spliced variants of somatostatin ...

Somatostatin (SST)-system is a pleiotropic hormonal system composed by several ligands/receptors that is involved in the regulation of multiple pathophysiological functions. Specifically, certain components of the SST-system are dysregulated in several endocrine-related cancer types compared to control tissues, wherein these alterations seem to influence their development/progression. However, the presence and functional role of neuronostatin (NST) and its putative G-protein c...