Endocrine Abstracts

The estrogen receptors ERα and ERβ are currently considered important molecules in glucose and lipid metabolism, although their specific roles in pancreatic β-cells are still greatly unknown.The function of pancreatic β-cells is the biosynthesis and release of insulin, the only hormone able to decrease blood glucose levels. It has been recently described that ERα plays an essential role in the regulation of insulin biosynthesis b...

Background: The multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunitinib is approved for advanced renal cell carcinoma and gastrointestinal stroma tumors. It targets both tumor vessels and malignant cells. Animal experiments have pointed to a direct adrenotoxic effect of the drug.Aims: We hypothesized that sunitinib may inhibit proliferation of adrenocortical cancer (ACC) cells and influence adrenal steroid hormone synthesis.Results: Sunitinib re...

Besides their well-known anti-diabetic effects, the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) thiazolidinedione ligands (TZD) have been suggested to also display anti-inflammatory properties. The receptor role in mediating such effects is far from being elucidated. Here, we demonstrate that PPARγ is necessary for TZD to interfere with TNFα and IFNγ inflammatory activity in human endothelial cells. Different PPARγ ligands similarly inhib...

Introduction: Free fatty acids (FFAs) affect pituitary function. While no effect of FFAs on ACTH and cortisol seems to exist in men, data in women are somewhat controversial. Therefore, we aimed to assess the effect of an acute increase of circulating FFA levels induced by the infusion of a lipid-heparin infusion on ACTH and cortisol secretion in healthy young women.Methods: Following a 10-h overnight fast 13 healthy female volunteers were investigated i...

Osteopontin (OPN) is a multifunctional glycoprotein implicated, among others, in bone metabolism, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It promotes inflammation and insulin resistance. Osteopontin is elevated in the plasma and adipose tissue of obese subjects and decreases upon diet induced weight loss. Here we investigated the effect of bariatric surgery on plasma OPN concentrations in morbidly obese patients. 40 obese patients aged 43.1±1.8 years were recruited ...

The molecular mechanisms underlying the reawakening of hypothalamic GnRH neurons at puberty remain to be elucidated. Recently, the G protein-coupled receptor 54 (GPR54) and its endogenous ligand kisspeptin, encoded by the KISS1 gene, have been involved. In fact, GPR54 mutations cause idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in human and mice. We used the previously characterized primary culture of human fetal olfactory GnRH-secreting neurons, FNC-B4, to study in vitro t...

Microvascular endothelium is one of the main character and target involved in the inflammatory response. Upon specific activation, endothelial cells massively recruit Th1 IFNgamma secreting lymphocytes at the inflammatory site. In the present study, we investigate the intracellular signalling mediating TNFalpha (T) and IFNgamma (I) inflammatory response in a human endothelial cell line (HMEC-1) in vitro and the interfering effects of rosiglitazone (RGZ), a peroxisome pr...

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 ...

The adipose tissue (AT) is an important endocrine organ. Upon energy imbalance, the adipose cells become dysfunctional, supporting the development of metabolic pathologies and tumours. The adipose cell is among the main actor of the tumor microenvironment, and is able to establish a crosstalk with the cancer cell resulting in a reciprocal reprogramming. Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare endocrine malignancy affecting the adrenal cortex. In the most aggressive forms, can...

Congenital Adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) refers to a group of autosomal-recessive inherited disorders of impaired adrenal steroidogenesis. The most common form is 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21-OHD) caused by mutations in the CYP21A2 gene. Patients lack glucocorticoids and in some cases mineralocorticoids, and present with androgen excess causing hypoglycemia, live-threatening salt wasting, virilisation, and precocious puberty. Treatment includes the replacement of deficie...