Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Transition from child to adult healthcare is a period of vulnerability for young people with diabetes. We hypothesised that patient satisfaction with services and patient wellbeing would be positively associated with a satisfactory clinical progression.Methods: We included data from 150 young people recruited in 2012 to a longitudinal study of transition (http:research.ncl.ac.uk/transition). Young people’s satisfaction with services (&...

Background: Glucocorticoids (GCs) modulate glucose homeostasis by acting on metabolic tissues including liver, adipose and skeletal muscle. GC access to corticosteroid receptors in these tissues is regulated e.g. by pre-receptor metabolism. We recently identified a role for ABCC1, a transmembrane ‘drug-resistance’ transporter, as a GC exporter which limits intracellular GC concentrations and action in adipose tissue. Here, we tested the hypothesis that ABCC1, which i...

Introduction: The variable tumor behavior in patients with gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEPNETs) is challenging. Current general biomarkers are insufficient to predict the disease course. An emerging biomarker is the NETest, a blood-based gene signature that can predict disease status based on the expression of genes involved in tumor biology. While promising, the accuracy and reproducibility of results in daily practice during years of follow up has never b...

A. Background/Significance: Autoimmune polyglandular syndrome Type II (APS-II) is a rare polyendocrinopathy with a prevalence of 1 to 2 in 100.000, instigated by immune-mediated destruction of several organs. Knowledge of APS-II is crucial, especially in the early detection of polyglandular disorder among patients with endocrine autoimmunity. B. Case: This case is of a 40-year-old male who initially presented with Grave′s disease after showing sign...

Aim: Glucocorticoids play a significant role in inflammation and immune system disruption. Our study aimed to analyse different biochemical and blood count indices and serum inflammation-based scores in patients with all different causes of endogenous Cushing’s Syndrome (CS) in a well-defined population.Methods: Clinical records of 35 patients diagnosed with CS between 2008 and 2020 at the only central national health service hospital in Malta, were...

Non-functional pituitary adenomas (NFPA) are non-hormone secreting pituitary tumours while growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas (GHPA) are active pituitary tumours causing acromegaly. Since immunotherapy is becoming the preferred therapeutic strategy in cancers, understanding the diversity of immune cells infiltrating the tumour microenvironment is warranted. However, little is known about the immune landscape of pituitary tumours. We validated an acoustic-assisted hydr...

Glucocorticoids (GCs) have potent immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects and are widely used in the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Unfortunately, their long term administration causes serious systemic metabolic side effects including osteoporosis, muscle wasting and insulin resistance. 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) is responsible for the local conversion of inactive GCs to their active counterparts. It has been shown that many of the...

Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in pregnant women and associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, including pre-eclampsia. Active vitamin-D (1,25(OH)2D3) exerts important non-classical immune-regulatory effects, and the maternal placenta (decidua) appears a key target. Uterine natural killer cells (uNKs) are the most prominent decidual immune cell during early pregnancy. Given their critical role in fetal implantation and placentation, we hypothesised uNKs are a local source...

Local and systemic bone loss is a common complication in patients with chronic inflammatory disease. Previously, we have identified that glucocorticoid (GC) activation by the enzyme 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) is increased within tissues such as bone during systemic inflammation. However, whilst effective at suppressing inflammation, in excess, GCs drive osteoporosis. To determine the contribution of 11β-HSD1 activated glucocorticoids to inf...

Aims and Objective: A transmembrane cell-adhesion protein, the Coxsackie-adenovirus receptor (CAR) serves as an entry receptor for enteroviruses and may be essential for their ability to infect cells. Since beta-cell enteroviral infection could contribute to the development of Type 1 diabetes, it is important that CAR expression is analysed in the human pancreas. CAR exists as at least 5 isoforms and we have studied the expression of these dif...