Endocrine Abstracts

Worldwide, ˜300,000 new cases of differentiated thyroid cancer are reported per annum and thyroid cancer now represents the most rapidly increasing cancer in the US and in the UK. In general terms, outcome is good (10-year survival >90%). However, up to 25% of patients develop local or regional recurrences, and have a significantly reduced life expectancy. We hypothesise those thyroid tumours which subsequently recur display a distinct pattern of driver ...

Introduction: Germline and somatic inactivating MEN1 variants are associated with a wide range of inherited and sporadic endocrine tumours. MEN1 encodes the tumour suppressor Menin, a ubiquitously expressed scaffold protein, implicated in multiple cellular processes including transcription, epigenetic regulation, and modulation of key signaling pathways. Despite intensive study, the mechanisms leading to endocrine tumorigenesis remain ill-defined, in part ref...

Background: Klotho is a 1012 amino acids transmembrane protein, composed of two internal repeats, KL1 and KL2, that can be cleaved, shed and act as a circulating hormone. Klotho regulates several pathways, including fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), Wnt-β/catenin and the cation channels TRPV and TRPC. Our group and other labs identified klotho as a potent tumor suppressor in breast and pancreatic cancers and that KL1 domain is responsible for this activity. Yet, the me...

Background: The CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing platform is a powerful technology to create genetically engineered cells and organisms. However, the success of CRISPR genome editing experiments is limited by the intracellular delivery and expression of Cas9 endonuclease protein and guide RNA (gRNA). Beta-tumour cells (βTC-6), derived from transgenic mice, exhibit glucose stimulated insulin secretion which makes them a valuable tool in understanding the mechanisms that regulate...

Introduction: A good injection technique is crucial to ensure that insulin is properly administered into the subcutaneous tissue and then released at the right time, to avoid some common complications such as lipodystrophies (LD). The objective of our study is to evaluate injection techniques in Moroccan diabetic patients.Materials and methods: We conducted a prospective study including any diabetic insulin-treated patient for more than 6 months, followe...

Introduction: Changing needles and syringes when injecting insulin is often included in recommendations on injection techniques and in education sessions. The objective of our study was to evaluate the rate of insulin needle reuse and its consequences.Materials and methods: We conducted a prospective study including any diabetic insulin-treated patient for more than 6 months, followed up at the service between February 2015 and June 2017. Patients respon...

: Magmas, a gene encoding for the mitochondrial import inner membrane translocase subunit, Tim16, protects different cell lines from the antitumoral effects of several pro-apoptotic stimuli (i.e. chemicals and chemotherapeutic agents). The synthetic Compound 5 is capable of sensitizing chemoresistant tumor cells overexpressing Magmas to proapoptotic stimuli, indicating that this molecule may be useful to overcome tumor chemoresistance. The aim of our study was to evaluate whet...

Background: Mutations of 21-hydroxylase (CYP21A2) cause congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Its severe (classic) form constitutes a life-threatening disease. Patients suffer a significant disease burden due to co-morbidities that are often treatment-related. The current therapeutic situation is unsatisfying and demands novel treatment approaches. In silico modelling suggests protein misfolding and intracellular retention to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of C...

The well characterized sodium iodide symporter (NIS) in its dual function as reporter and therapy gene displays an outstanding opportunity to target different cancer types allowing non-invasive imaging of functional NIS expression and therapeutic radionuclide application. We recently reported induction of tumor-selective accumulation and therapeutic efficacy of radioiodide after systemic non-viral epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted NIS gene delivery in a subcutan...

The sodium iodide symporter (NIS) in its role as well characterized reporter and therapy gene represents an outstanding tool to target different cancer types allowing non-invasive imaging of functional NIS expression by 123I-scintigraphy and therapeutic application of 131I. Based on its overexpression on the surface of the vast majority of cancer types, the cMET/Hepatocyte growth factor receptor (HGFR) serves as an ideal target for tumor-selective gene de...