Endocrine Abstracts

Several studies demonstrated that IGFs stimulate aromatase activity in ovary but no data on bone are available. In the present study the role of IGF system components on aromatase action has been characterized during osteogenic differentiation in a model of rat tibial osteoblasts. At confluence (day 0) cells have been transferred to differentiating medium supplemented with 1% FCS and delta4androstenedion with or without IGF-II 3 nM, IGFBP-2 1 nM and IGFBP-3 1 nM. Cells have be...

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) play an important role in the pathogenesis of several neoplasias and the IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) may have a role as autocrine/paracrine factors in regulating the local actions of the IGFs. In the present study we investigated IGF-I, IGF-II, IGFBP-1, IGFBP-2, and IGFBP-3 production in cultured media from three human lung cancer cell lines (Calu-3, Calu-6, A549) and in human neoplastic and normal lung tissue samples obtained at surgery fr...

Introduction: Acromegaly is a chronic disease that requires continuous follow-up and examinations over time. During the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak many endocrinological scientific societies recommend to reduce pituitary patient access to hospital facilities to decrease risk of infection. Aim: The aim of our study is to evaluate the impact of restrictions on outpatient access in the clinical management of the patient with acromegaly during COVID19 pandemi...

The increasing use of somatostatin (SRIF) analogues prompted extensive investigations on SRIF receptor (SSR) in human tumours. Human prostate cancer (PCa) may differentially express SSRs from the normal tissue. Moreover, SSR and dopamine (D) receptors (DR) may interact to form homo- and heterodimers with enhanced functional activity. In the present study, using the human androgen-dependent PCa cell line LNCaP, we investigated: 1) SSR and DR subtype expression in different cult...

Somatostatin (SRIF) has been demonstrated to inhibit in vitro proliferation of normal and transformed cells via SRIF receptors (SSRs). Moreover, like other neuroendocrine molecules, SRIF and SSRs may play a significant role in the progression and neuroendocrine differentiation of human prostate cancer (PCa). However, conflicting results have been reported in the literature on SSR heterogeneity and specific cell localization in PCa. In the present study, using the human ...

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can involve multiple organs and systems, including the endocrine system. In particular, thyroid dysfunctions are frequently seen in COVID-19 patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate thyroid function in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and to correlate thyroid function with inflammatory status, blood count parameters and mortality.Materials and methods: Data of COVID-19 patients admitted to the hosp...

Introduction: Due to the absence of randomized controlled trials, management of low risk papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), which represents the most commonly diagnosed form of thyroid malignancy, remains controversial. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is significantly more frequent in patients with PTC, as compared with subjects carrying benign lesions as well as different tumour histotypes. Despite still controversial, HT is considered a protective factor in PTC being associat...

Somatostatin (SRIF) is an inhibitory hormone that plays a regulatory role in several cell functions including cell proliferation. SRIF acts through five specific membrane receptors (sst1-5), expressed on SRIF-target cells. SRIF and ssts may play a significant role in the progression and neuroendocrine differentiation of human prostate cancer (PCa). However, conflicting results have been reported in the literature on ssts heterogeneity and specific cell localization in PCa. Aim...

Introduction: Previous data from our group suggested a role for the GH/IGF1 axis in the pathophysiology of osteoporosis in thalassemia (Clin Endocrinol 69:202, 2008). The present study was aimed at evaluating the relationships between circulating IGFs and bone metabolism and density in a very large series of adult thalassemic patients.Study design: One hundred and thirty-nine patients affected by thalassemia major (mean age 32.3±7.87 years) underwen...

Introduction: Constitution of new blood vessels is crucial for cancer self-maintenance and progression. Neo-angiogenesis may be affected from hereditary traits, namely the presence of SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) of genes involved in its regulation. VEGF-A represents the main regulator of angiogenesis. Germline SNPs of the VEGF-A gene have been associated to outcome of several cancers, but no data exist about differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC).<p class="abstext"...