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Nature Reviews. Endocrinology Apr 2021In the three decades since endocrine disruption was conceptualized at the Wingspread Conference, we have witnessed the growth of this multidisciplinary field and the... (Review)
Review
In the three decades since endocrine disruption was conceptualized at the Wingspread Conference, we have witnessed the growth of this multidisciplinary field and the accumulation of evidence showing the deleterious health effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. It is only within the past decade that, albeit slowly, some changes regarding regulatory measures have taken place. In this Perspective, we address some historical points regarding the advent of the endocrine disruption field and the conceptual changes that endocrine disruption brought about. We also provide our personal recollection of the events triggered by our serendipitous discovery of oestrogenic activity in plastic, a founder event in the field of endocrine disruption. This recollection ends with the CLARITY study as an example of a discordance between 'science for its own sake' and 'regulatory science' and leads us to offer a perspective that could be summarized by the motto attributed to Ludwig Boltzmann: "Nothing is more practical than a good theory".
Topics: Animals; Endocrine Disruptors; Endocrine System; Environmental Exposure; Fetal Development; Government Regulation; Humans
PubMed: 33514909
DOI: 10.1038/s41574-020-00460-3 -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2022As an endocrine organ, the thyroid acts on the entire body by secreting a series of hormones, and bone is one of the main target organs of the thyroid. (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
As an endocrine organ, the thyroid acts on the entire body by secreting a series of hormones, and bone is one of the main target organs of the thyroid.
SUMMARY
This review highlights the roles of thyroid hormones and thyroid diseases in bone homeostasis.
CONCLUSION
Thyroid hormones play significant roles in the growth and development of bone, and imbalance of thyroid hormones can impair bone homeostasis.
Topics: Bone and Bones; Endocrine System; Hormones; Thyroid Gland; Thyroid Hormones
PubMed: 35464058
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.873820 -
Journal of Endocrinological... Jul 2020
Review
Topics: Animals; Betacoronavirus; COVID-19; Coronavirus Infections; Endocrine Glands; Endocrine System Diseases; Hormones; Humans; Pandemics; Pneumonia, Viral; SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: 32361826
DOI: 10.1007/s40618-020-01276-8 -
Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism:... Jul 2020Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are chemicals that can interfere with normal endocrine signals. Human exposure to EDCs is particularly concerning during vulnerable... (Review)
Review
Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are chemicals that can interfere with normal endocrine signals. Human exposure to EDCs is particularly concerning during vulnerable periods of life, such as pregnancy. However, often overlooked is the effect that EDCs may pose to the placenta. The abundance of hormone receptors makes the placenta highly sensitive to EDCs. We have reviewed the most recent advances in our understanding of EDC exposures on the development and function of the placenta such as steroidogenesis, spiral artery remodeling, drug-transporter expression, implantation and cellular invasion, fusion, and proliferation. EDCs reviewed include those ubiquitous in the environment with available human biomonitoring data. This review also identifies critical gaps in knowledge to drive future research in the field.
Topics: Animals; Endocrine Disruptors; Endocrine System; Female; Humans; Placenta; Pregnancy; Trophoblasts
PubMed: 32249015
DOI: 10.1016/j.tem.2020.03.003 -
American Journal of Physiology.... Feb 2013Analysis of the interactive effects of combinations of hormones or other manipulations with qualitatively similar individual effects is an important topic in basic and... (Review)
Review
Analysis of the interactive effects of combinations of hormones or other manipulations with qualitatively similar individual effects is an important topic in basic and clinical endocrinology as well as other branches of basic and clinical research related to integrative physiology. Functional, as opposed to mechanistic, analyses of interactions rely on the concept of synergy, which can be defined qualitatively as a cooperative action or quantitatively as a supra-additive effect according to some metric for the addition of different dose-effect curves. Unfortunately, dose-effect curve addition is far from straightforward; rather, it requires the development of an axiomatic mathematical theory. I review the mathematical soundness, face validity, and utility of the most frequently used approaches to supra-additive synergy. These criteria highlight serious problems in the two most common synergy approaches, response additivity and Loewe additivity, which is the basis of the isobole and related response surface approaches. I conclude that there is no adequate, generally applicable, supra-additive synergy metric appropriate for endocrinology or any other field of basic and clinical integrative physiology. I recommend that these metrics be abandoned in favor of the simpler definition of synergy as a cooperative, i.e., nonantagonistic, effect. This simple definition avoids mathematical difficulties, is easily applicable, meets regulatory requirements for combination therapy development, and suffices to advance phenomenological basic research to mechanistic studies of interactions and clinical combination therapy research.
Topics: Animals; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Synergism; Endocrine System; Energy Metabolism; Homeostasis; Hormones; Humans; Models, Biological
PubMed: 23211518
DOI: 10.1152/ajpendo.00308.2012 -
Endocrine Journal 2016Diabetes is a chronic and incurable disease, which results from absolute or relative insulin insufficiency. Therefore, pancreatic beta cells, which are the only type of... (Review)
Review
Diabetes is a chronic and incurable disease, which results from absolute or relative insulin insufficiency. Therefore, pancreatic beta cells, which are the only type of cell that expresses insulin, is considered to be a potential target for the cure of diabetes. Although the findings regarding beta-cell neogenesis during pancreas development have been exploited to induce insulin-producing cells from non-beta cells, there are still many hurdles towards generating fully functional beta cells that can produce high levels of insulin and respond to physiological signals. To overcome these problems, a solid understanding of pancreas development and beta-cell formation is required, and several mouse models have been developed to reveal the unique features of each endocrine cell type at distinct developmental time points. Here I review our understanding of pancreas development and endocrine differentiation focusing on recent progresses in improving temporal cell labeling in vivo.
Topics: Animals; Cell Differentiation; Cell Division; Diabetes Mellitus; Endocrine System; Humans; Insulin; Insulin Secretion; Insulin-Secreting Cells; Models, Biological; Regeneration
PubMed: 26615757
DOI: 10.1507/endocrj.EJ15-0601 -
Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta Mar 2014White adipose tissue serves as a critical energy storage depot and endocrine organ. Adipocytes are subject to numerous levels of regulation, including neuronal,... (Review)
Review
White adipose tissue serves as a critical energy storage depot and endocrine organ. Adipocytes are subject to numerous levels of regulation, including neuronal, endocrine and metabolic. While insulin is the classical endocrine regulator of lipid metabolism in adipose tissue, other important endocrine hormones also control adipose tissue physiology. In this review, we will focus on the contribution of the pituitary in the modulation of adipocyte function, through the direct release of growth hormone as well as via the regulation of the thyroid gland and release of thyroid hormone. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Modulation of Adipose Tissue in Health and Disease.
Topics: Adipocytes; Adipose Tissue, White; Endocrine System; Energy Metabolism; Growth Hormone; Humans; Lipid Metabolism; Lipolysis; Pituitary Gland; Thyroid Hormones
PubMed: 23774083
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2013.06.004 -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2022
Topics: Endocrine System; Endocrinology
PubMed: 36204106
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.1003683 -
Mediators of Inflammation 2017Monoclonal gammopathies (MG) are classically associated with lytic bone lesions, hypercalcemia, anemia, and renal insufficiency. However, in some cases, symptoms of... (Review)
Review
Monoclonal gammopathies (MG) are classically associated with lytic bone lesions, hypercalcemia, anemia, and renal insufficiency. However, in some cases, symptoms of endocrine dysfunction are more prominent than these classical signs and misdiagnosis can thus be possible. This concerns especially the situation where the presence of M-protein is limited and the serum protein electrophoresis (sPEP) appears normal. To understand the origin of the endocrine symptoms associated with MG, we overview here the current knowledge on the complexity of interactions between cytokines and the endocrine system in MG and discuss the perspectives for both the diagnosis and treatments for this class of diseases. We also illustrate the role of major cytokines and growth factors such as IL-6, IL-1, TNF-, and VEGF in the endocrine system, as these tumor-relevant signaling molecules not only help the clonal expansion and invasion of the tumor cells but also influence cellular metabolism through autocrine, paracrine, and endocrine mechanisms. We further discuss the broader impact of these tumor environment-derived molecules and proinflammatory state on systemic hormone signaling. The diagnostic challenges and clinical work-up are illustrated from the point of view of an endocrinologist.
Topics: Animals; Cytokines; Endocrine System; Humans; Interleukin-1beta; Interleukin-6; Neoplasms, Plasma Cell; Plasma Cells; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
PubMed: 28740334
DOI: 10.1155/2017/7586174 -
Adipocyte Dec 2020Although adipose tissue metabolism in obesity has been widely studied, there is limited research on the anorexic state, where the endocrine system is disrupted by... (Review)
Review
Although adipose tissue metabolism in obesity has been widely studied, there is limited research on the anorexic state, where the endocrine system is disrupted by reduced adipose tissue mass and there are depot-specific changes in adipocyte type and function. Stress exposure at different stages of life can alter the balance between energy intake and expenditure and thereby contribute to the pathogenesis of anorexia nervosa. This review integrates information from human clinical trials to describe endocrine, genetic and epigenetic aspects of adipose tissue physiology in the anorexic condition. Changes in the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid, -adrenal, and -gonadal axes and their relationships to appetite regulation and adipocyte function are discussed. Because of the role of stress in triggering or magnifying anorexia, and the dynamic but also persistent nature of environmentally-induced epigenetic modifications, epigenetics is likely the link between stress and long-term changes in the endocrine system that disrupt homoeostatic food intake and adipose tissue metabolism. Herein, we focus on the adipocyte and changes in its function, including alterations reinforced by endocrine disturbance and dysfunctional adipokine regulation. This information is critical because of the poor understanding of anorexic pathophysiology, due to the lack of suitable research models, and the complexity of genetic and environmental interactions.
Topics: Adipocytes; Adipose Tissue; Animals; Anorexia; Disease Susceptibility; Endocrine System; Energy Metabolism; Epigenesis, Genetic; Gene Expression Regulation; Humans; Lipid Metabolism; Organ Size; Stress, Physiological
PubMed: 32772766
DOI: 10.1080/21623945.2020.1803643