Endocrine Abstracts

Epididymis (epi) is a sex steroid-sensitive duct provided with spontaneous motility, allowing sperm transport. We previously demonstrated that human epi expresses a high abundance of mRNA for ER-alpha and ER-beta. We demonstrated that in epi estrogens up-regulate either oxytocin (OT) responsiveness, acting at the receptor level, and responsiveness to endothelin-1 (ET-1), another well-known stimulator of epididymal motility. However, we did not find any significant change eithe...

BXL-628 is a non-hypercalcemic calcitriol analog successfully tested in a phase IIa trial for benign prostate hyperplasia therapy. Because part of low urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are generated by overactive bladder (OAB) and bladder expresses the calcitriol receptor (VDR), we investigated the BXL-628 effects on bladder contractility and RhoA/ROK signalling activated in OAB, by in vivo (2-weeks; 30 mcg/Kg, Sprague-Dawley, SD, and spontaneously hypertensive rats, SHR) a...

Background: Up to 2016, NIFT-P was considered a non-invasive encapsulated follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (FV-PTC) and was reclassified and downgraded to a pre-malignant lesion. However, if these nodules have peculiar ultrasonographic features able to pre-operatively suggest their histology is still a matter of discussion. We evaluated a large series of NIFT-P, FV-PTC, FTC, and FA to characterize their ultrasonographic features.Methods:...

The contractile RhoA/Rho-kinase (Rock) signalling pathway is up-regulated in penile tissue in animal models of experimental diabetes and has been proposed to contribute to diabetes-related erectile dysfunction (ED). In previous studies we demonstrated that testosterone (T) restores diabetes-induced ED by influencing the NO/cGMP/PDE5 pathway.AimTo investigate the effect of T on the RhoA/Rock signalling in course of diabetes.MethodsWe used two distinct animal models of chemical ...

Objectives: Radical prostatectomy is an effective therapy for clinically localized prostate cancer. A significant number of men develops post-prostatectomy erectile dysfunction (PPED), due to surgery-related nervous damage. PPED is relatively refractory to PDE5i therapy. In a rat model of bilateral cavernous neurotomy we evaluated whether chronic tadalafil treatment (CTT) could ameliorate anatomical and functional damage to corpora cavernosa (CC).Methods...