Endocrine Abstracts

Background: The differential expression of tissue microRNAs in benign and malignant adrenocortical tumours has been described in several studies including ours. Novel data show that microRNAs are also present in the bloodstream and can be exploited as minimally invasive markers of malignancy.Objective: To analyze the microRNAs expressed in different studies by an in silico approach and to establish the molecular pathways affected. Furthermore, circulatin...

Cold nodules are one of the most common findings on scintigraphic examinations of the thyroid gland. About 5–10% of these nodules turn out to be histologically malignant. Our aim was to examine some somatogenetic alterations associated with thyroid cancer in FNA samples of the thyroid. These alterations included single nucleotide mutations (BRAF, HRAS, NRAS, KRAS) and genetic translocations (RET/PTC1, RET/PTC3, PAX8ex7/PPARgamma, PAX8ex9/PPARgamma). The SNPs were tested b...

Background: It is well established that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25-D3) inhibits cell growth and induces apoptosis in numerous tumors. Increased expression of 1,25-D3 inactivating enzyme, (24-hydroxylase - CYP24A1), has been observed in numerous thyroid cancer cell lines after calcitriol treatment in vitro. We examined the expression of CYP24A1 as well as the activating 1-α-hydroxylase (CYP27B1) gene in human thyroid cancer tissue.Methods:...

It is established that somatic oncogene mutation (BRAF, NRAS, HRAS, KRAS) and gene translocations (RET/PTC, PAX8/PPAR-gamma) are associated with the development of thyroid cancer. Somatic single nucleotide polymorphisms were analyzed by LigthCycler melting method, while translocations were identified by real-time polymerase chain reaction technique. In 22 intraoperative thyroid tissue samples (11 pathologic and 11 normal). In tumorous sample 3 BRAF, 2 NRAS and one HRAS mutatio...

Adipose tissue secreted hormonal mediators, adipokines play pivotal roles in the regulation of, among others, central nervous and immune systems influencing body weight, insulin action and inflammatory responses. The aim of our present study was to investigate possible associations of thyroid function with plasma levels of three of known adipokines, i.e. leptin, adiponectin and resistin in 74 Caucasian subjects without any endocrine diseases or related therapy. In order to cre...

Pregnancy induces hormonal and metabolic changes that result in profound alterations of thyroid hormone economy and regulation. Adaptation of the pituitary-thyroid axis may be influenced by the iodine supply, especially iodine deficiency.The aim of the study was to define characteristics of changes in certain biochemical parameters and regulation of thyroid function during pregnancy in a mildly iodine-deficient region of Hungary. Thirty-eight healthy pre...

Drug-induced vasculitis or lupus-like syndromes can complicate the clinical course of PTU-treated patients. The clinical manifestations of four patients treated with PTU for Graves’ disease are presented.A 37-year-old woman was treated with PTU for six years. She had severe thyrotoxicosis, high fever and polyarthralgia. Elevated doses of PTU resulted in normalization of thyroid function, but the fever and arthralgia persisted even after steroid admi...

A 57-year-old female patient was admitted for evaluation of multiple focal liver lesions diagnosed with abdominal ultrasound and CT. Her medical history included severe rheumatoid arthritis and pernicious anaemia treated with vitamin B12. Gastroscopic examination revealed numerous small polypoid lesions within the stomach, and histology of tissue samples obtained by biopsy showed carcinoid associated with atrophic gastritis. Although the patient had no symptoms of carcinoid sy...

Salsolinol (1-methyl-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline), is a recently identified endogenous prolactin (PRL) releasing factor. Salsolinol (SALS) seems to be a selective and potent stimulator of PRL secretion both in vivo and in vitro. 1-Methyl dihydroisoquinoline (1MeDIQ) is an antagonist of salsolinol induced prolactin release and causes increase in plasma norepinephrine (NE) level. SALS decreased the peripheral tissue dopamine (DA) level dose depende...

Skeletal muscle is the principal tissue responsible for insulin-stimulated glucose disposal and is thus the major site of peripheral insulin resistance. Urocortin 2 (Ucn2), a corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) family member and the type 2 CRF receptor (CRFR2) are highly expressed in skeletal muscle. To determine the physiological role of Ucn2, we generated mice deficient in this peptide. Using glucose and insulin tolerance tests and hyperinsulinemic euglycemic glucose clamp ...