Endocrine Abstracts

Background: PE affects ~2% of pregnancies and is associated with generalised endothelial cell dysfunction. Antioxidant selenoproteins may limit such effects. Serum selenium is lower in mothers and babies affected by PE and associated with lower activity of the selenoprotein glutathione peroxidases. Other selenoproteins, the iodothyronine deiodinases (IDs; D2 and D3) regulate fetal thyroid hormone synthesis. The IDs utilise selenium preferentially; we have reported similar trii...

Objective: Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) has recently been evaluated as a marker for follicle reserve and as a new marker for ovarian function in women. In the male, it is produced in Sertoli cells (SC) in the testis. We evaluated serum levels of AMH as a marker of SC function and male fertility by comparing normo- and oligozoospermic men.Materials and methods: Serum levels of AMH were determined by enzyme immunoassay in two groups of men with normal...

Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) has an important regulatory role both in early folliculogenesis (inhibiting the recruitment of follicles from the primordial pool into the growing phase) and at the antral stage (where it inhibits the action of FSH). In the mouse, AMH action appears to be mediated by a heterodimeric receptor complex comprising a type I receptor and the specific AMH receptor AMHRII, which is essential for AMH signalling in the murine ovary. Post-receptor signalling ...

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a significant cause of perinatal morbidity, in particular neurodevelopmental delay, and is associated with fetal hypothyroxinemia. Thyroid hormone is essential for the optimal development of the central nervous system (CNS) in the fetus. Transport of the active ligand triiodothyronine (T3) across the cell membrane is required for its biological effects, initiated by binding of T3 to nuclear thyroid receptors (TR). Recently, the membran...

Introduction: Glucocorticoids (GCs) are widely used anti-inflammatory medications that cause many metabolic side effects. Long-term treatment with GCs causes obesity and induces insulin resistance in many metabolic tissues, including adipose tissue and muscle. Factors secreted by adipose tissue, so-called adipokines, including leptin and adiponectin, also regulate the glucose-insulin axis. Obesity increases circulating leptin but decreases adiponectin levels. Despite several s...

Background: Patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), a neuroendocrine tumour derived from the parafollicular C-cells, often present with metastasized disease. Survival strongly correlates with stage of disease at diagnosis, illustrating the need for early diagnosis. Calcitonin (CT), a well-established tumour marker for MTC, is limited by a high rate of false positives in the screening phase. Promising new markers for MTC are procalcitonin (PCT) and progastrin releasin...

Background: Resistance to thyroid hormone (TH) alpha (RTHα), caused by heterozygous mutations in THRA, is characterized by abnormal thyroid function tests and features due to tissue-specific hypothyroidism, including disproportional short stature, variable motor and cognitive defects, macrocephaly and macroglossia, constipation and anemia. Mutant receptors display defective T3 binding resulting in impaired transcriptional activity. Dominant negative inhibition of the WT r...

Background: Over the last few decades, in vivo animal experiments have been the gold standard for the assessment of safety of chemicals and pharmaceuticals for human health. However, in vivo animal data has limited relevance for toxicity prediction in humans, especially considering species-specific issues of age, sex and exposure in different life-stages. Within the Virtual Human Platform for Safety Assessment (VHP4Safety) project we aim to develop an animal-...

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders affecting 6-15% of women of reproductive age. The syndrome is characterised by a variety of reproductive and metabolic features, including hyperandrogenism, chronic anovulation and hirsutism as well as insulin resistance, dyslipidaemia, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Specifically regarding NAFLD, androgen excess is hypothesised to have a direct effect on hepatic lipid storage, thus...

Introduction: Melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) is a G-protein-coupled receptor expressed in regions of the hypothalamus regulating appetite and energy expenditure. Extensive evidence from genetic and biological studies show that MC4R is a key player in the homeostatic regulation of body weight. MC4R loss of function (LoF) variants are the most common cause of monogenic obesity. We have identified 13 heterozygous MC4R variants in patients with obesity at our academic Obesity Cent...