Endocrine Abstracts

Thyroid hormones (TH) play a fundamental role in brain development. Changes on TH availability during pregnancy and early childhood can lead to neurological disorders. Accordingly, concerns are mounting that exposure to environmental compounds capable of interfering with TH action can disrupt neuronal development. Current approaches to categorize chemicals as thyroid hormone system disrupting chemicals (THSDC) are mainly based on determination of changes in circulating TH conc...

The proline rich and Gla domain genes PRRG1-4 encode for short transmembrane proteins. PRRG proteins contain a Gla domain with glutamic acid residues which are gamma-carboxylated in a vitamin-K-depend manner. In a previous study, we were able to show a decrease in PRRG1 gene expression during intima thickening in atherosclerosis. In this study, we investigated the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the vitamin-K-dependent protein PRRG1 with cardiovascular...

Background: Age-associated double negative (DN) B memory cells lacking surface expression of CD27 and IgD have been associated with proinflammatory characteristics, higher disease activity in autoimmune diseases and disease-specific autoantibodies. We studied the distribution of DN B cells in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), their surface markers and cytokine production.Methods: CD19+ cell subpopulations on the basis of IgD and CD27 expression were phen...

Pathophysiological calcification in the vasculature favours cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases. In patients with chronic kidney disease vitamin K metabolites are associated with decreased vascular calcification.We investigated the expression of the vitamin K dependent proteins PRRG1-4 in vessels and bone to identify differences in expression pattern during atherosclerosis (AS) stages and compare the two tissue profiles.Gene expre...

Introduction: Testosterone production in male testicular cells is mainly stimulated by LH, secreted by the pituitary. Recent findings have shown significant clinical associations of vitamin D seasonal rhythms and androgens in men (Wehr et al. 2010, Nimptsch et al. 2012). We aimed to elucidate associations of vitamin D and androgen synthesis on a cellular level.Methods: Human primary testicular cells, isolated from testes of braindead donors, and a cell l...

Introduction: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disorder with higher prevalence in females which is characterized by vascular damage, pulmonary hypertension, inflammation and progressive fibrosis of skin and other internal organs such as lung. In the skin it has been shown that dermal adipose tissue atrophy and microangiopathy drive fibrosis development, however which is the underlying mechanism and whether this mechanism is responsible for the female prevalence ...

Objective: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 5–20% of women of reproductive age worldwide and is associated with disorders of glucose metabolism. Hormone and metabolic signalling may be influenced by phytoestrogens, such as isoflavones. Their endocrine effects may modify symptom penetrance in PCOS.We investigated, whether women with PCOS and healthy controls differ in their capacity to metabolize dietary isoflavones and whether this capacity...

Background: Androstenedione (ASD) levels are used to assess androgen production, adrenal gland and ovarian/testicular function, and diagnosis/monitoring of patients with hyperandrogenism from suspected cortisol-related enzyme deficiencies. According to international diagnostic guidelines, ASD can confirm biochemical hyperandrogenism in suspected polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) when total/free testosterone are not elevated. The Elecsys ASD assay (Roche Diagnostics) is a compet...

Matrix–GLA–protein ( MGP), independent of its posttranslational modification(s), has been associated with bone parameters and cardiovascular risk in patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We investigated whether uncarboxylated, dephosphorylated MGP (uc–dp MGP), total MGP or both are associated with anthropometric and cardiovascular parameters such as carotid to femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), intima–media thickness (IMT) and relat...

Objective: Central obesity plays a major role in the pathophysiology of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, little information exists concerning the impact of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) on metabolic disturbances in PCOS. The aim of this study was to investigate whether SAT topography influences insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance, and metabolic parameters in PCOS women.Design: Prospective case-control trial.<p class="abstext"...