Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Kisspeptin is a critical activator of hypothalamic GnRH neurons and is essential for reproductive health. Emerging data reveals that kisspeptin-based therapeutics have substantial potential to treat reproductive, psychosexual and bone disorders. However, current delivery is limited to the subcutaneous or intravenous routes, presenting barriers to development. Alternative routes of administration would overcome this and capitalise on the benefits of kisspeptin-based...

Introduction: Hormone-producing pituitary cell lineages derive from SOX2+ embryonic precursors. These cells maintain multipotency into early postnatal life, acting as the resident population of pituitary stem cells (PSCs) and contributing extensively to all the endocrine cell lineages. Additionally, paracrine signalling from PSCs is important for cell proliferation of neighbouring progenitors (PMC7803373). It is not known if SOX2+ PSCs are involved in the regulation of additio...

The tumor microenvironment (TME) includes diverse cellular components such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and immune cells. MSC are a subset of heterogeneous cell populations characterized by the expression of CD105, CD73, and CD90 that can differentiate into chondrocytes, osteoblasts, and adipocytes in vitro. They are known to have immunomodulatory capabilities. Our aim was to isolate and characterize the immunomodulatory capabilities of MSC from pituitary tumors (P...

Introduction: Paradoxical increase of GH following oral glucose load has been described in ~30% of patients with acromegaly and has been related to the ectopic expression of the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor (GIPR) in somatotropinomas. Recently, we identified germline pathogenic variants of lysine demethylase 1A (KDM1A) in patients with GIP-dependent primary bilateral macronodular adrenal hyperplasia with Cushing’s syndrome. Patients...

The main target of pharmacological therapy for growth hormone (GH)-secreting pituitary tumors (GH-PitNET) is the somatostatin receptor type 2 (SST2). However, approximately half of patients treated with octreotide, an SST2 agonist, show a low response rate or are octreotide-resistant. Here we present mechanistic data that shows co-treatment with simufilam, a novel oral therapeutic candidate, enhances sensitivity to octreotide. We previously showed that the cytoskeleton protein...

Craniopharyngiomas (CPs) are a relatively benign subtype of epithelial tumors that typically originate from the sellar and suprasellar regions of the brain. These endocrine tumors are classified as adamantinomatous (ACP) or papillary (PCP) based on their histological characteristics. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of CPs is frequently made at an advanced stage of tumor development, and therefore relevant associated comorbidities are often present. The first-line treatment is typ...