Endocrinologia japonica最新文献

We encountered a patient who developed silent thyroiditis during the course of Graves' disease. The diagnosis of silent thyroiditis was made on the basis of a low thyroidal 131I uptake, no response to the thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) test, and subsequent hypothyroidism despite the presence of high titers of thyrotropin (TSH) receptor antibody (TRAb) and thyroid stimulating antibody (TSAb). The patient, in addition, had a discrepancy between serum TSH and thyroid hormone values. This was due to the presence of interfering substances that react to mouse IgG in the sera since serum TSH levels were decreased in a dose dependent manner by the addition of increasing amounts of mouse IgG to the sera. It should therefore be noted that silent thyroiditis can develop in patients with Graves' disease. Furthermore, clinicians should be aware that two-site immunoassay kits that use mouse monoclonal antibodies are subject to interference by some substances, possibly antibodies which react to mouse IgG.

We examined the effect of endogenous immunoglobulins (G, A and M) and albumin on the measurement of thyroid hormones by different methods, including a new non-isotopic immunoassay of free thyroxine (FT4) and free triiodothyronine (FT3), in a large number of patients with non-thyroidal illness (NTI). Variations in serum protein concentrations can affect the results of radioimmunoassay of human thyroid hormones and thyroxine binding globulin (TBG). Our data revealed that in patients with non-thyroidal illness, when fluctuations in serum gamma-globulin occurred the T3/TBG and T4/TBG ratios altered. Consequently, when patients are suffering from non-thyroidal illness with changing gamma-globulin levels, clinical scientists should take care when they use T3/TBG and T4/TBG ratios as a substitute for FT3 or FT4 estimation. We found FT4 and FT3 (determined with Amerlex-M kits) T3 and the T3/TBG ratio were altered inversely due to the difference in the serum gamma-globulin levels. A recently developed enhanced luminescence enzyme immunoassay for FT3 and FT4 (Amerlite FT3 and FT4 kits) provides more reliable and accurate results, because of its resistance to interference, especially from albumin and gamma-globulin.

The beta 3-adrenoceptor agonist, BRL 26830A, which is not inhibited by either beta 1 or beta 2-selective antagonists, has been shown to possess anti-obesity and anti-diabetic actions. However, the effects of this agent on insulin and glucagon release have not yet been substantiated. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that BRL 26830A promotes insulin and glucagon secretion via beta 3 receptors on pancreatic islet B and A cells. In ICR mice fasted for 48 h, BRL 26830A significantly stimulated insulin secretion from 5 min after administration, markedly decreased blood glucose levels from 30 min after administration, and significantly increased glucagon secretion from 30 min after administration. The administration of a non-selective beta-receptor antagonist, at a dose of 50 mg/kg, 30 min prior to BRL 26830A injection completely abolished the effects induced by BRL 26830A. However, the administration of a beta 1-selective antagonist at doses of 50 or 100 mg/kg did not produce any significant effects. On the action of BRL 26830A, whereas the administration of a beta 2-selective antagonist at 50 mg/kg, a near maximal effective dose, partially abolished the effects of BRL 26830A. BRL 26830A had no effect on insulin, glucagon, or glucose levels in streptozocin (STZ) diabetic mice fasted for 48 h. These results suggest that, in mice, BRL 26830A may promote insulin secretion mainly via beta 3 receptors and partially via beta 2 receptors on pancreatic-islet B cells, and that glucagon may be secreted as the result of hypoglycemia induced by this agent.

In order to further characterize the cDNA clones, pSv-1 and pSv-2, which had been newly isolated from a cDNA library of intact rat seminal vesicles as clones hybridizing to androgen-stimulated mRNAs of approximately 1,500 and 3,500 nucleotides in length, respectively, the whole nucleotide sequences were determined. The pSv-1 and pSv-2 were 1135 and 1819 nucleotides in length, respectively, and seemed not to contain entire sequences corresponding to the mRNAs. When the 0.7 kb HindIII fragments from pSv-1 and the 1 kb fragments from pSv-2 were used to probe rat genomic DNA that had been digested with four restriction enzymes, the Southern blots suggested the existence of multiple genes related to pSv-1 and a single gene related to pSv-2. These results suggest that pSv-1 and pSv-2 provide useful probes not only for further characterization of products encoded by the mRNAs, but also for the study on the physiological roles of androgen-dependent gene expression in rat seminal vesicles.

Calcitonin is widely used in the treatment of post-menopausal osteoporosis. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of salmon calcitonin (SCT) on the incidence of the pituitary tumors in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Subcutaneous injections of SCT at a dose of 160 IU/kg/day for 6 months reduced body weight and induced one pituitary hyperplasia and three pituitary adenomas in 4 of 5 animals, while 5 controls did not show any changes. Prolactin-positive cells were located at the periphery of the affected pituitaries adjacent to the prolactin-negative adenomas. In addition, serum concentrations of prolactin and TSH were lower than in the controls, although serum calcium or LH levels were not significantly different from the controls. Among 7 animals treated with SCT for 6 months followed by no medication for another 6 months, 5 adenomas were detected, one of which had invasive growth toward the adjacent tissue, whereas only one adenoma was found in 9 controls. These results suggest that SCT administration at a high dose may induce the formation of pituitary adenoma, or may accelerate the development of spontaneous pituitary adenomas, some of which show frequent mitotic figures and invasive growth into the surrounding tissue, possibly resulting in malignant transformation. This indicates the need for caution in considering whether calcitonin injections into patients with osteoporosis as well as Paget's disease may induce such pituitary tumors.

PTC gene, which is derived from the rearranged form of the ret proto-oncogene, was originally discovered in human thyroid papillary carcinomas. This gene has been thought to act as a tumorigenetic factor in thyroid carcinoma, although the action of PTC oncogene products is still unknown. To study the frequency of the PTC gene present in human thyroid carcinomas, we investigated four cell lines derived from thyroid carcinoma and 22 thyroid tumor tissue specimens. The reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method was performed to detect putative PTC mRNA. The presence of the PTC gene in genomic DNA was analyzed by Southern blot hybridization. PTC mRNA was detected by the RT-PCR method in only one papillary carcinoma cell line (TPC-1 cell). Southern gel analysis confirmed the rearrangement of the ret proto-oncogene in this cell line. In the other three cell lines and 22 tumor tissue specimens, however, neither the PTC gene or mRNA was detected. These results demonstrate that the prevalence of the PTC gene in thyroid tumor is low and may not be essential for human thyroid tumorigenesis. That our present results conflict with previous reports may be due to general differences in genetic background among races.

To identify gene products involved in castration-induced involution of the rat ventral prostate, we constructed a subtraction cDNA library of the ventral prostate from rats castrated for 48 h. The library was screened with subtracted cDNA probes enriched for sequences with a low copy number expressed in intact or castrated rats. As a result of differential screening, 48 cDNA clones representing 10 different induced mRNAs were isolated. The time course of these mRNA inductions after castration was examined. Within the first 24 h after castration, the level of mRNAs for these cDNA clones was significantly increased and it reached its peak by 48-72 h after castration. Although mRNAs for these cDNA clones were expressed in various tissues from intact rats, an increase in mRNA as a response to castration was observed only in the ventral prostate. Partial sequence analyses of the 10 cDNA clones indicate that three cDNA clones represent rat glutathione S-transferase Yb-1, Yb-2 and Yb-3 subunit mRNA sequences, but for others respective homologues could not be found in a search of the GenBank database (release 67).

To develop a homologous radioimmunoassay (RIA) for a hormone of a small or rare animal often meets difficulty in collecting a large amount of purified antigen required for antibody production. On the other hand, to employ a heterologous RIA to estimate the hormone often gives poor sensitivity. To overcome this difficulty, a "hetero-antibody" RIA was studied. In a hetero-antibody RIA system, a purified preparation of a hormone is used for radioiodination and standardization and a heterologous antibody to the hormone is used for the first antibody. Canine motilin and rat LH were selected as examples, and anti-porcine motilin and anti-hCG, anti-hCG beta or anti-ovine LH beta was used as the heterologous antibody. The sensitivities of the hetero-antibody RIAs were much higher than those of heterologous RIAs in any case, showing that these hetero-antibody RIA systems were suitable for practical use. To clarify the principle of hetero-antibody RIA, antiserum to porcine motilin was fractionated on an affinity column where canine motilin was immobilized. The fraction bound had greater constants of affinity with both porcine and canine motilins than the rest of the antibody fractions. This fraction also reacted with a synthetic peptide corresponding to the C-terminal sequence common to porcine and canine motilins in a competitive binding test with labeled canine motilin. These results suggest that an antibody population having high affinity and cross-reactivity is present in polyclonal antiserum and indicate that the population can be used in hetero-antibody RIA at an appropriate concentration.

The present study was conducted to determine whether protein kinase C was involved in angiotensin II-mediated release of 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE) from bovine adrenal glomerulosa cells. Activators of protein kinase C, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 4-acetate (TPA) and 1-oleoyl-2-acetylglycerol (OAG), significantly increased release of 12-HETE. The effect of OAG was potentiated by BAYK8644, a stimulator of calcium entry. Sphingosine, H-7 and staurosporine, which inhibited the activity of protein kinase C in vitro, almost completely blocked 12-HETE release induced by TPA. These agents also significantly reduced angiotensin II-mediated 12-HETE release. When time course of the liberation of 12-HETE was measured, angiotensin II elicited sustained release of 12-HETE, which was inhibited by staurosporine. These results indicate that angiotensin II induces sustained release of 12-HETE, a feed forward regulator of aldosterone secretion, and that protein kinase C may be involved in this process.