Pegvisomant in Acromegaly and Gigantism

Pegvisomant is a GH antagonist used in acromegaly in gigantism. Pegvisomant is a modified GH molecule with pegylation to increase half-life and nine amino acid substitutions to modify GH receptor affinity and dimerization. Pegvisomant leads to an IGF1 decrease. It is administered subcutaneously every day with a median dose of 15 mg/day in meta-analysis. This treatment is indicated in acromegaly or gigantism in case of resistance to somatostatin analogs. This drug leads to a control of acromegaly in 90% of patients in phase III study and about 70% of patients in real-life study. In gigantism, only 50% of children are controlled with pegvisomant. It is a well-tolerated treatment with hepatic side effects in 3% of cases, headache in 2% of cases, and lipohypertrophy in 3% of cases. Pegvisomant does not act on adenoma size, and 6% of increasing tumour size is observed. Indeed, pegvisomant is an antagonist of GH receptor with a good efficacy which can be used alone or in association with somatostatin analog or cabergoline if acromegaly is not controlled by a somatostatin analog

G-Protein Coupled Hormone Receptors of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal Axis are Targets of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals have received significant concern, since they ubiquitously persist in the environment and are able to induce adverse effects on health, and more particularly on reproductive function. Most of the studies focused on nuclear hormone receptors as mediators of sex steroid hormones signaling. However, there are increasing evidences that peptides hormones of the Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Gonadal axis are targets of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (as Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone, Follicle-Stimulating Hormone, Luteinizing Hormone…). The majority of these hormones act on G protein-coupled membrane receptors. This review summarizes the effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on homeostasis of peptides hormone of Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Gonadal axis and on their G protein-coupled membrane receptors signaling revealed by experimental, clinical, and epidemiological studies in human

Increasing the Number of Thyroid Lesions Classes in Microarray Analysis Improves the Relevance of Diagnostic Markers

BackgroundGenetic markers for thyroid cancers identified by microarray analysis have offered limited predictive accuracy so far because of the few classes of thyroid lesions usually taken into account. To improve diagnostic relevance, we have simultaneously analyzed microarray data from six public datasets covering a total of 347 thyroid tissue samples representing 12 histological classes of follicular lesions and normal thyroid tissue. Our own dataset, containing about half the thyroid tissue samples, included all categories of thyroid lesions. Methodology/Principal Findings Classifier predictions were strongly affected by similarities between classes and by the number of classes in the training sets. In each dataset, sample prediction was improved by separating the samples into three groups according to class similarities. The cross-validation of differential genes revealed four clusters with functional enrichments. The analysis of six of these genes (APOD, APOE, CLGN, CRABP1, SDHA and TIMP1) in 49 new samples showed consistent gene and protein profiles with the class similarities observed. Focusing on four subclasses of follicular tumor, we explored the diagnostic potential of 12 selected markers (CASP10, CDH16, CLGN, CRABP1, HMGB2, ALPL2, ADAMTS2, CABIN1, ALDH1A3, USP13, NR2F2, KRTHB5) by real-time quantitative RT-PCR on 32 other new samples. The gene expression profiles of follicular tumors were examined with reference to the mutational status of the Pax8-PPARγ, TSHR, GNAS and NRAS genes. Conclusion/Significance We show that diagnostic tools defined on the basis of microarray data are more relevant when a large number of samples and tissue classes are used. Taking into account the relationships between the thyroid tumor pathologies, together with the main biological functions and pathways involved, improved the diagnostic accuracy of the samples. Our approach was particularly relevant for the classification of microfollicular adenomas

Le syndrome de résistance aux hormones thyroïdiennes (à propos de neuf cas)

ANGERS-BU Médecine-Pharmacie (490072105) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF

Syndrome de cushing induit par la grossesse (démonstration in vivo d une secrétion de cortisol dépendante de l HCG)

ANGERS-BU Médecine-Pharmacie (490072105) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF

Le syndrome de résistance aux hormones thyroïdiennes (à propos de neuf cas)

ANGERS-BU Médecine-Pharmacie (490072105) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF

Sex Bias in Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

International audienceDifferentiated thyroid cancers are more frequent in women than in men. These different frequencies may depend on differences in patient’s behavior and in thyroid investigations. However, an impact on sexual hormones is likely, although this has been insufficiently elucidated. Estrogens may increase the production of mutagenic molecules in the thyroid cell and favor the proliferation and invasion of tumoral cells by regulating both the thyrocyte enzymatic machinery and the inflammatory process associated with tumor growth. On the other hand, the worse prognosis of thyroid cancer associated with the male gender is poorly explained

Endocrine side-effects of anti-cancer drugs: thyroid effects of tyrosine kinase inhibitors

International audienceTyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are currently used by most oncologists. Among their side effects, thyroid dysfunctions are nowadays clearly observed. Whereas changes in thyroid function tests have been originally described with sunitinib, we now know that many TKIs can induce hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. In this study, the various molecules implicated in thyroid dysfunctions are analysed and the latest data on physiopathological mechanisms are approached in order to propose a strategy of thyroid monitoring of patients on TKI therapy.</p

Comparative analysis of sequence covariation methods to mine evolutionary hubs: Examples from selected GPCR families

International audienc