Endocrine Abstracts

Endocrine cells of the intestine, pancreas and adrenal gland develop from the endoderm and neural crest, respectively. Despite their different developmental origins, we discovered that these distinct endocrine cells rely on a common transcription factor, Insm1, that controls their development. The Insm1 (insulinoma-associated 1, IA-1) gene encodes a zinc-finger factor that was discovered in an insulinoma cDNA library. We show that pancreatic and intestinal endocrine cells as w...

The androgen receptor (AR) is the conduit for androgen-induced fetal male sex differentiation, the acquisition of secondary sexual characteristics at male puberty and subsequently, the onset of spermatogenesis. The AR is expressed ubiquitously in early fetal development to permit male sex differentiation to occur: stabilisation of the Wolffian ducts to form the vas deferens, epididymis and seminal vesicles and morphogenesis of the genital tubercle and folds to form the penis, ...

Background: Tissue hypoxia is a hallmark of rapidly proliferating tumours which most frequently adapt and prosper under low oxygen tension. The transcription factor, HIF-1α, is mediating these effects and induces target genes involved in survival, invasion and resistance to drugs and radiation. No data are available on the functional regulation of HIF-1α in thyroid carcinoma cells.Methods: Using thyroid carcinoma cells derived from papillary (N...

Acromegaly and thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy(TAO) are uncommon diseases with different pathogenetic mechanisms.We report two patients with acromegaly and TAO and speculate on a possible association.A 54 year old man with subclinical hypothyroidism and strongly positive thyroid microsomal antibodies presented with features of TAO.MRI of his orbits confirmed the diagnosis.Clinical examination also revealed features suggestive of acromegaly,which was co...

Introduction: Development and progression of cancers is multifactorial encompassing several mechanisms that aid its proliferation. One of the hallmarks of cancer progression is inhibition of the immune system. Cancer cells can activate different immune checkpoint are pathways that harbour inhibitory or stimulatory mechanisms that enabled self-tolerance and assist with immune response. Through activation of immune checkpoint pathways cancers can suppress immune response against...

11-deoxycorticosterone (DOC) is an aldosterone precursor synthesized from progesterone and converted to corticosterone in the adrenal cortex. DOC overproduction due to an adrenal lesion is a very rare cause of mineralocorticoid-induced hypertension. The objective of this study is to provide the most relevant clinical features that clinicians dealing with patients presenting with the hallmarks of hypertension due to DOC-producing adrenal lesions should be aware of. We report a ...

Introduction: Ovarian hyperthecosis (OH) is a rare condition, reported only in case reports and small case series and is characterized by severe hyperandrogenism leading to virilisation and insulin resistance. The term hyperthecosis refers to the presence of luteinized thecal cells within a hyperplastic ovarian stroma and the pathophysiology of this remains poorly understood. Despite the fact that hyperandrogenism is a relatively common clinical problem, severe hyperandrogenis...

Obesity is defined as a state of chronic low-grade inflammation. It is associated with pro-inflammatory activity of visceral adipose tissue, regarded as a neuroendocrine organ that secretes cytotoxins and other pro-inflammatory factors, impairing metabolic pathways. The corollary of these changes is the risk of developing comorbidities. There are many similarities in the mechanisms of ageing and in obesity. The process of ageing leads to the accumulation of pro-inflammatory fa...

Impaired glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity are established hallmarks of diabetes and it was speculated that also fructose tolerance could be impaired. However, investigation of fructose tolerance has been hampered by the lack of easy accessible pharmacodynamic markers. In humans, the hormone FGF21 has recently been demonstrated to be a sensitive pharmacodynamic marker responding to an oral fructose bolus and exhibiting a divergent secretion pattern in obese diabetic an...

Introduction: RAGE activation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of diabetic vasculopathy, however the signal transduction mechanism downstream of RAGE is not fully understood. Yoshimoto et al. previously established the RAGE-overexpressed vascular smooth muscle cell line, RAGE-A10, and found that its slow growth rate and increased monocyte chemotactic protein-one (MCP-1) mRNA expression were analogous to the phenomenon of senescence. Senescent cells display characterist...