Development of a Long-Acting Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Using Serum Albumin Fab-Associated Technology for Female Infertility.

Background: Recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone (rhFSH) is commonly used to treat female infertility, but its short half-life necessitates multiple doses. Even corifollitropin alfa, with an extended half-life, requires supplementary injections of rhFSH after 7 days. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a long-acting follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) formulation using anti-serum albumin Fab-associated (SAFA) technology to avoid additional injections and enhance ovarian function.

SGLT2 Inhibitor Use and Risk of Dementia and Parkinson Disease Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.

Background And Objectives: Despite the mechanistic potential of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) to improve neurologic outcomes, the efficacy of SGLT2i in neurodegenerative disorders among patients with type 2 diabetes is not well established. This population-based cohort study aimed to investigate the association of SGLT2i use with risks of incident dementia and Parkinson disease (PD) in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: This was a retrospective examination of data from a cohort of 1,348,362 participants with type 2 diabetes (≥40 years), who started antidiabetic drugs from 2014 to 2019, evaluated using the Korean National Health Insurance Service Database.

Differential gene expression and pathway analysis in growth hormone-secreting pituitary tumors according to granulation pattern.

This study investigated differential gene expression between granulation patterns in growth hormone (GH)-secreting pituitary tumors, aiming to elucidate novel transcriptomes that explain clinical variances in patients with acromegaly. Transcriptome analysis was conducted on 6 normal pituitary tissues and 15 GH-secreting pituitary tumors, including 9 densely granulated somatotroph tumors (DGSTs) and 6 sparsely granulated somatotroph tumors (SGSTs). We identified 3111 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in tumors compared to normal pituitaries, with 1117 DEGs unique to a specific granulation within tumors.

Development of a Mature B Lymphocyte Probe through Gating-Oriented Live-Cell Distinction (GOLD) and Selective Imaging of Topical Spleen.

B lymphocytes play a pivotal role in the adaptive immune system by facilitating antibody production. Young B cell progenitors originate in the bone marrow and migrate to the spleen for antigen-dependent maturation, leading to the development of diverse B cell subtypes. Thus, tracking B cell trajectories through cell type distinction is essential for an appropriate checkpoint assessment.

Multiomics Approach to Acromegaly: Unveiling Translational Insights for Precision Medicine.

The clinical characteristics and prognoses of acromegaly vary among patients. Assessment of current and novel predictors can lead to multilevel categorization of patients, allowing integration into new clinical guidelines and a reduction in the increased morbidity and mortality associated with acromegaly. Despite advances in the diagnosis and treatment of acromegaly, its pathophysiology remains unclear.

Dexamethasone suppression for F-FDG PET/CT to localize ACTH-secreting pituitary tumors.

Background: Fluorine-Fluoro-deoxy-glucose (F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is widely used for diagnosing various malignant tumors and evaluating metabolic activities. Although the usefulness of F-FDG PET has been reported in several endocrine diseases, studies on pituitary disease are extremely limited. To evaluate whether dexamethasone (DEX) suppression can improve F-FDG PET for the localization of adrenocorticotropic hormone-secreting adenomas in the pituitary gland in Cushing's disease (CD).

Cre-loxP System-Based Mouse Model for Investigating Graves' Disease and Associated Orbitopathy.

Graves' disease (GD), one of the most common forms of autoimmune thyroid disorders, is characterized by hyperthyroidism caused by antibodies (Abs) against the extracellular A-subunit of the thyrotropin receptor (TSHR). Various approaches have been used to create mouse models of GD, including transfected fibroblasts and immunization with plasmids or adenoviruses expressing human TSHR A-subunit (hTSHR A-subunit). These models, however, require repeated immunization and produce inconsistent results.

The Role of Adipsin, Complement Factor D, in the Pathogenesis of Graves' Orbitopathy.

Purpose: Graves' orbitopathy (GO) is an orbital manifestation of autoimmune Graves' disease, and orbital fibroblast is considered a target cell, producing pro-inflammatory cytokines and/or differentiating into adipocytes. Adipose tissue has been focused on as an endocrine and inflammatory organ secreting adipokines. We investigated the pathogenic role of a specific adipokine, adipsin, known as complement factor D in Graves' orbital fibroblasts.

Sex differences in mortality in patients with acromegaly: a nationwide cohort study in Korea.

Objective: The results of previous studies on sex differences in mortality and comorbidities among patients with acromegaly are diverse. We assessed sex differences in mortality and the risk of complications in patients with acromegaly.

Methods: We included 1884 patients with acromegaly with 1:50 age- and sex-matched 94 200 controls using the Korean nationwide claims database from 2009 to 2019.

Surgical Treatment of Prolactinomas: Potential Role as a First-Line Treatment Modality.

Purpose: Treatment with dopamine agonists (DAs) has been the first-line standard treatment for prolactinoma, and surgery has been reserved for drug intolerance and resistance for several decades. We evaluated whether surgery plays a primary role in prolactinoma management.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 210 prolactinoma patients who had received surgical treatment at our institution.

Acetate-Mediated Odorant Receptor OR51E2 Activation Results in Calcitonin Secretion in Parafollicular C-Cells: A Novel Diagnostic Target of Human Medullary Thyroid Cancer.

Medullary thyroid cancer originates from parafollicular C-cells in the thyroid. Despite successful thyroidectomy, localizing remnant cancer cells in patients with elevated calcitonin and carcinoembryonic antigen levels remains a challenge. Extranasal odorant receptors are expressed in cells from non-olfactory tissues, including C-cells.

Olfactory marker protein regulates adipogenesis via the cAMP-IκBα pathway.

Olfactory marker protein (OMP) regulates olfactory transduction and is also expressed in adipose tissue. Since it serves as a regulatory buffer for cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels, we hypothesized that it plays a role in modulating adipocyte differentiation. To determine the role of OMP in adipogenesis, we examined the differences in body weight, adipose tissue mass, and adipogenic or thermogenic gene expression between high-fat diet-fed control and Omp-knockout (KO) mice.

Positive association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and growth hormone deficiency in patients with nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma.

Objective: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by growth hormone deficiency (GHd). We investigated the association between NAFLD and GHd in patients with nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA).

Design And Methods: We recruited patients with NFPA who underwent transsphenoidal adenectomy between January 2005 and December 2018.

Antigen-independent IL-17A production by bystander-activated CD4IL-1R1 cells in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease caused by auto-antigen recognizing CD4 T cells. However, IL-17A-producing CD4 T cells that are bystander-activated by IL-1β and IL-23, and T cell receptors independently, could contribute to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Here, we studied the differences in the frequency and function of bystander-activated CD4 T cells in patients with MS.

Use of long non-coding RNAs for the molecular diagnosis of papillary thyroid cancer.

Objective: Improved molecular testing for common somatic mutations and the identification of mRNA and microRNA expression classifiers are promising approaches for the diagnosis of thyroid nodules. However, there is a need to improve the diagnostic accuracy of such tests for identifying thyroid cancer. Recent findings have revealed a crucial role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in gene modulation.

Olfactory marker protein regulation of glucagon secretion in hyperglycemia.

The olfactory marker protein (OMP), which is also expressed in nonolfactory tissues, plays a role in regulating the kinetics and termination of olfactory transduction. Thus, we hypothesized that OMP may play a similar role in modulating the secretion of hormones involved in Ca and cAMP signaling, such as glucagon. In the present study, we confirmed nonolfactory α-cell-specific OMP expression in human and mouse pancreatic islets as well as in the murine α-cell line αTC1.

Altered Glucose Metabolism and Glucose Transporters in Systemic Organs After Bariatric Surgery.

The Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is highly effective in the remission of obesity and associated diabetes. The mechanisms underlying obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus remission after RYGB remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in continuous dynamic FDG uptake patterns after RYGB and examine the correlation between glucose metabolism and its transporters in variable endocrine organs using F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography images.

Therapeutic Potential of Targeting Periostin in the Treatment of Graves' Orbitopathy.

Periostin is a matricellular protein that is ubiquitously expressed in normal human tissues and is involved in pathologic mechanism of chronic inflammatory and fibrotic disease. In this study we investigate periostin in the pathogenesis of Graves' orbitopathy (GO) using human orbital adipose tissue obtained from surgery and primary cultured orbital fibroblasts . POSTN (gene encoding periostin) expression in Graves' orbital tissues and healthy control tissues was studied, and the role of periostin in GO pathologic mechanism was examined through small-interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated silencing.

Potential Therapeutic Role of Bone Morphogenic Protein 7 (BMP7) in the Pathogenesis of Graves' Orbitopathy.

Purpose: We investigated a role of bone morphogenic protein 7 (BMP7), a member of the TGF-β superfamily on pathogenic mechanism of Graves' orbitopathy (GO). The therapeutic effects of BMP7 on inflammation and fibrosis were evaluated in cultured Graves' orbital fibroblasts.

Methods: Expression of BMP7 was compared in cultured orbital tissue explants from GO (n = 12) and normal control (n = 12) subjects using real-time PCR.