ACTA ENDOCRINOLOGICA (BUC)

Background. Resistin, as an adipokine, has been shown to be increased in serum plasma of gastric cancer patients and suggested to be a major factor in gastric carcinogenesis. However, it is still not clear how Resistin influences gastric cancer progression. The aim of this study was to evaluate Resistin effect on cell proliferation and expression of telomerase gene in gastric cancer cell line (AGS). Methods. In this study, the proliferating activity of AGS cells stimulated with Resistin was also evaluated by using 2,3-Bis-(2-Methoxy-4-Nitro-5-Sulfophenyl)-2HTetrazolium- 5-Carboxanilide (XTT) assay and trypan blue staining method. To investigate telomerase gene expression affected by Resistin, total RNA was extracted, cDNA was synthesized and expression of hTERT mRNA was carried out by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results. Exogenous Resistin has induced gastric cancer cells proliferation in a dose-dependent manner and could improve cell viability. Also the expression of Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (hTERT) was upregulated in 24 hours, after Resistin treatment. Conclusions. This study has shown Resistin induces exogenously gastric cancer cell proliferation and increases hTERT gene expression. These findings may clarify the role of Resistin in gastric carcinogenesis. Therefore blocking Resistin signaling and limiting its secretion may be valuable for the treatment of gastric cancer.

Objective: The invasive mammary cancer is the most frequent malignant tumor of a woman. Among the potential prognostic factors are included the biomarkers which measure or are associated with biological processes involved in the tumoral progression.We studied the prognostic importance of the oncoprotein c-erbB2 in the invasive mammary cancer.\r\nMaterials and methods: We included in the study 56 female patients suffering from invasive mammary cancer.The tissue fragments were fitted in formol, included to paraffin, commonly stained with hematoxylin-eosine (HE); for the determination of the c-erbB2 we\r\nused the immunohistochemical method of the avidin-biotin (ABC) complex.\r\nResults: From the total of 56 tumors, 38 (67.9%) presented different degrees of positivity; 18 (32.1%) did not express the oncoprotein c-erbB2.\r\nConclusions: The positivity of oncoprotein c-erbB2 was correlated with the size of the tumor; the carcinomas which are not infiltrative ductal, known as having a better prognostic, were c-erbB2 negative.

Leptin is much more than a simple sensor of body fat levels. Its biological activities, include angiogenesis, osteogenesis and modulation of the immune and reproductive systems. There are no reports on fluctuations of the level in normal human functional glandular epithelium during the menstrual cycle. Objective. We aimed to determine the expression level of the leptin receptor by immunohistochemistry and to correlate this with estrogen and progesterone receptor levels in normal endometrial tissue throughout the menstrual cycle. Study design. Thirty-seven paraffin wax blocks of biopsy specimens of histologically normal endometrium were evaluated and classified according to the stage of the menstrual cycle during the 2004–2006 period. Results. The OB-R level underwent fluctuations during the menstrual cycle in the different tissue compartments; these were most marked in the functional glandular epithelium and during the proliferative stage. OB-R levels were correlated positively with the expression levels of estrogen and negatively with those for progesterone receptors, suggesting that these steroids modulate the expression of OB-R in vivo. Conclusion. This finding underscores the importance of considering the menstrual cycle stage for studies seeking possible impacts of the OB-R on reproductive pathology, because its expression level varies with the hormonal environment.

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Introduction. Symptoms related to hypersecretion of hormones in patients with pituitary adenomas do not always correlate with immunohistochemical staining results. Objective. To evaluate the relationship between the pituitary adenomas hormone immunoexpressions and endocrine presentations. Patients and methods. The clinical status and immunoexpression of 72 patients who underwent transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenomas were analyzed. Results. Macroadenomas were diagnosed in 51 cases (70.84%), while microadenomas were found in 21 cases (29.16%). The 72 adenoma specimens were divided into 22 monohormonal, 21 plurihormonal, 21 immunonegative and 8 unreliable specimens. The positive immunohistochemical staining results occurred as follows: prolactin and growth hormone 25% each, adrenocorticotropic hormone 13.89%, thyroid-stimulating hormone 5.56%, leuteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone 12.5%, glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit 22.22%. Statistically significant relationships between the immunohistochemical presentation and the preoperative diagnosis were found for prolactin and hyperprolactinemia, growth hormone and acromegaly and adrenocorticotropic hormone and Cushing’s syndrome. Conclusions. The lack of full concordance between the clinical presentations and immunohistochemical staining was mainly a result of the presence of nonfunctioning adenomas, plurihormonal adenomas and unreliable specimens. The morphometric method introduced in this study, utilizing the immunoexpression index, provided a very precise evaluation of pituitary adenomas pathology.

Background. Following recent years, there is an increased body of literature on the connections that might exist between type 2 diabetes mellitus and the efficiency of bariatric surgery in its reversal compared to other medical approaches such as dieting. Aim. To induce experimentally type 2 diabetes mellitus in rats in order to observe the effects of bariatric surgery in the recovery as well as the reestablishment of normal insulin levels in order to extend the findings in house animals. Materials and methods. This study was conducted in three stages: the first consisted in inducing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in 40 young Wistar male rats, by initially feeding them human food high in vegetal fats, oleaginous seeds, simple and complex carbohydrates, sugars, lipids, fats, proteins and fructose for a period of 8 weeks followed by a single low dose of streptozotocin (STZ), administered through intraperitoneal injection. The second stage of the study started when the rats became obese and therefore qualified for the bariatric procedure and the third stage consisted of post-operation supervision and care. The surgical procedure, performed on 10 obese rats, consisted in reducing the size of the stomach by partial gastrectomy of a 1.5 – 2.0 cm wide and 6.5 – 7.5 cm long area on the large curvature. Results. Showed rapid improvements in body weight and blood sugar control after 9 days. Conclusion. After putting the rats on a diet high in carbohydrates, sugars, lipids and fats and administering them STZ, the induction of type 2 diabetes was successful and the partial gastrectomy led to a better blood sugar control. The bariatric procedure provides a faster therapeutic response than conventional diets.

Context. The expression of TSHR-C on the serum tetraiodothyronine (T4) and TSH receptor antibody (TRAb) levels are rarely studied. Objective. The effect of TSHR-c on T4 and TRAb levels and concomitant thyroid histological changes in mice was investigated. Design. Animal experimental study. Subjects and methods. Female BALB/c mice at 6-8 weeks of age were immunized with the thyroid stimulating hormone receptor antigen C-terminus (TSHR-C), and randomly divided into control group (treated with the corresponding concentrations of normal saline) and four experimental subgroups: TSHR-c1 subgroup (4 μg), TSHR-c2 subgroup (6 μg), TSHR-c3 subgroup (8 μg) and TSHR-c4 subgroup (10 μg). Serum T4 and TRAb levels were determined. Results. The serum T4 level decreased significantly in the experimental mice as the concentration increased. All the experimental mice were positive for serum TRAb (experimental groups: 40 positive/40, 100% vs. control group: 3 positive/10, 30%) compared to the control group (P =0.000). HE staining showed that the follicles in the control mice were composed of small to medium-sized round follicles, whereas the follicles in the experimental mice were irregularly enlarged under light microscope. Conclusions. TSHR-c immunization resulted in thyroid hormone changes like those observed in hypothyroidism, probably due to the induction of TRAb generation.

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