Endocrine Abstracts

The gut microbiota contributes to postnatal development and maturation by influencing barrier functions of the intestinal wall, the development of the immune system, and the utilisation of nutrients. Recent studies have also implicated a role in the prenatal period since the maternal gut microbiota is altered during pregnancy with a potential role in the regulation of glucose homeostasis and protection against preterm birth. Using as a model system germ-free mice that have nev...

A number of evidence indicate that mood (affective) disorders are influenced by various bioactive steroids such as corticoids, sex hormones and neuroactive steroids. However, to date, there are limited data concerning the discrimination between patients suffering from the disorders and controls, or regarding the classification of individual subtypes of mood disorders on the basis of steroid profiling. Therefore 47 steroids including their conjugates and further related substan...

Low plasma sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels are present in patients suffering chronic metabolic diseases, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, whether altered SHBG production plays a role in development and progression of this disease is unclear. To investigate SHBG involvement in NAFLD, we studied the effects of overexpressing SHBG in two mouse models, a genetically-induced model, by developing a double transgenic mouse by crossing the human...

Increasing evidence indicates chronic stress plays an important role in a variety of health problems such as the development of autoimmune disease, and the results from mice studies suggest that the central endocannabinoid (eCB) system regulates endocrine and neuronal responses to stress. However, it is unclear how the eCB system responds to chronic stress in healthy humans. A 520-day isolation-and-confinement study simulating an interplanetary spaceflight mission to Mars prov...

Introduction: Type 1 iodothyronine deiodinase (DIO1) is one of the three enzymes regulating bioavailability of thyroid hormones. In contrast to DIO2 and DIO3, the specific cellular role of DIO1 remains controversial. Our previous studies showed that DIO1 expression in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is decreased, followed by lowered intracellular T3 concentration. In this study we explored how re-introduction of DIO1 in ccRCC cells affects their mig...

Introduction: DHEA is a well-known neurosteroid. Its plasmatic level is reduced with ageing in most individuals. A non-negligible portion of DHEA is hydroxylated at C7 and C16 to 7α-, 7β- and 16α- and 16β-hydroxyderivatives. A part of the antiglucocorticoid function of DHEA has been described to its 7-oxygenated metabolites, namely to 7α-hydroxy-DHEA. Due its anti-glucocoticoid action it is also considered a factor in fat deposition processes. Thus, we...

Background: Aloe vera gel has been proven to have hypoglycaemic, hypolipidemic, and steroid enzyme regulating properties. These are of clinical significance in reproductive pathology namely polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Preliminary, ‘in-vitro’ studies suggested that non-polar component is responsible for the steroid enzyme modulating effect. This study investigates the role of non polar phytocomponent’s of aloe vera gel, which could be responsible i...

Low plasma SHBG levels in overweight individuals are a biomarker for the metabolic syndrome and are predictive of type 2 diabetes and risk of cardiovascular disease. There are no in vivo models to study SHBG expression and regulation during obesity development. The main reason for this is that the obesity-prone rodent models cannot be used to study this issue since rodents unlike humans do not express the SHBG gene in their livers. We have developed by crossi...

Pituitary adenomas are usually benign. However, a significant number of pituitary adenomas show an aggressive behaviour, with local invasion, increased risk of recurrence after surgery and lack of therapeutic response. In this study, we aimed to determine whether invasive and non-invasive pituitary adenomas display differences in clinical features and molecular parameters. In this retrospective descriptive study, 46 pituitary adenomas were analysed. Invasiveness was defined as...

Introduction: Patients with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) exhibit aberrant immune-regulatory mechanisms. Galectins (Gal) are a family of glycan-binding proteins, which have been involved in immune regulation. However, the association of Gal with AITD remains unknown. In this study, we evaluated serum Gal-1 and Gal-9 in patients with AITD.Methods: Peripheral blood samples from 31 patients with Graves’ disease (GD) (14 with untreated hyperthyroidi...