Endocrine Abstracts

Steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1, NR5A1) is a transcription factor that plays an essential role in the development of adrenal glands and gonads. Multiple level regulation of SF-1 activity is exerted by interaction with cofactors, post-translational modifications and epigenetic gene expression regulation. Our studies involving both cell lines and transgenic mouse studies showed that an increased SF-1 dosage activates adrenocortical cell proliferation and causes adrenocortical neopl...

Defective p27 function predisposes mice and rats to pheochromocytomas (PCC), and reduction of p27 repression is a feature of human PCCs. These findings suggest that p27 plays a role in PCC tumorigenesis. Recently, it was reported that p27 indirectly regulates gene transcription by associating with transcription factors (TF) and inhibiting gene transcription at specific promoters.We hypothesized that defective p27 promotes tumor formation in adrenomedulla...

The adrenal cortex is a dynamic organ that undergoes self-renewal. In the mouse it is divided into two concentric layers, the outer zona glomerulosa (ZG) and the inner zona fasciculata (ZF), that secrete aldosterone and corticosterone, respectively. Capsular and subcapsular stem/progenitor cells differentiate and migrate in a centripetal fashion to repopulate the gland until they reach the juxtamedullary region where they undergo senescence and apoptosis. Our lab has previousl...

Introduction: The human fetal adrenals (HFA) produce high levels of steroids. The gland is distinguishable from the 7th gestational week and can be separated in two zones: the fetal zone in the center which correspond of 80 % of the gland and the definitive zone in the periphery. At this time of the development, neural crest cells are reaching the adrenal primordium, producing catecholamines. A third zone, the transitional zone appears later in the early 2nd</s...

Recurrent somatic mutations in KCNJ5, CACNA1D, ATP1A1 and ATP2B3 have been identified in aldosterone producing adenoma (APA). Although the role of these mutations in regulating aldosterone biosynthesis has been clearly established, the mechanisms involved in proliferation and APA formation still remain to be elucidated. The aim of our study was to identify pathways involved in adrenal cortex nodulation and APA formation.Transcriptomic a...