Endocrine Abstracts

Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is an acute phase protein expressed in the advanced atherosclerotic lesions and produced by endothelial cells, macrophages and, in rodents also by adipocytes under tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) exposure. We investigated if PTX3 is expressed in human adipose tissue and is associated with cardiometabolic risk factors.Methods: Samples of subcutaneous (SAT) and omental visceral (VAT) adipose tissue were obtained from 21 obese (...

Childhood obesity and its later progression to Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) are known to be associated with sub-clinical inflammation; although the underlying cause for this is unclear. However, studies suggest that bacterial endotoxin (LPS) derived from commensal bacteria in the human gastrointestinal tract may contribute directly to sub-clinical inflammation. Human adipose tissue expresses toll like receptors that induce an inflammatory cascade in the presence of endotoxin. Hence,...

Integrative genomics studies of paragangliomas (PGL) have shown that PGL susceptibility genes are the main drivers of tumorigenesis. Comprehensive genetic analyses have identified germline SDHB and, to a lesser extent, FH gene mutations, as predominant causes of metastatic PGL. However, some suspicious cases remain unexplained. We performed whole-exome sequencing of a paraganglioma exhibiting an SDHx-like molecular profile in the absence of SDHx<...