Society journal studies

The following studies, among others, will be published in Endocrine Society journals. Before print, they are edited and posted online in each journal’s
Early Release section. You can access the journals at www.endocrine.org.

Effects of Rosiglitazone vs Metformin on Circulating Osteoclast and Osteogenic Precursor Cells in Postmenopausal Women with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus • M.R. Rubin, J.S. Manavalan, S. Agarwal, D.J. McMahon, A. Nino, L.A. Fitzpatrick, and J.P. Bilezikian • In postmenopausal women with T2D, circulating osteoclast precursor cells increase with both RSG and MET, and increase further when switching from RSG to MET. Sub-populations of cells that may be involved in the osteogenic lineage pathway are also altered with RSG. Further work is necessary to elucidate how these changes may relate to fracture risk.

Bone Mineral Density in Young Women With Primary Ovarian Insufficiency: Results of a Three-Year Randomized Controlled Trial of Physiological Transdermal Estradiol and Testosterone Replacement • Vaishali B. Popat, Karim A. Calis, Sophia N. Kalantaridou, Vien H. Vanderhoof, Deloris Koziol, James F. Troendle, James C. Reynolds, and Lawrence M. Nelson • Long-term physiological transdermal estradiol replacement in combination with oral medroxyprogesterone acetate restores mean femoral neck BMD to normal in young women with spontaneous 46, XX primary ovarian insufficiency. However, the addition of physiological transdermal T replacement did not provide additional benefit.

Parathyroid Hormone-Related Peptide (PTHrP) Secretion by Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (GEPNETs): Clinical Features, Diagnosis, Management, and Follow-Up • Kimberly Kamp, Richard A. Feelders, Roxanne C. S. van Adrichem, Yolanda B. de Rijke, Francien H. van Nederveen, Dik J. Kwekkeboom, and Wouter W. de Herder • Hypersecretion of PTHrP by metastatic GEP-NETs is very rare and seems to be exclusively associated with metastatic pancreatic NETs. PTHrP production has major clinical impact because poorly controllable hypercalcemia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The most successful treatment options for PTHrP-producing GEP-NETs are SSAs and PRRT using radiolabeled SSAs. Isotonic saline and bisphosphonates can be considered as supportive therapies.

Maternal Inheritance of an Inactive Type III Deiodinase Gene Allele Affects Mouse Pancreatic β-cells and Disrupts Glucose Homeostasis • Mayrin C. Medina, Tatiana Foseca, Judith Molina, Alberto Fachado, Melany Castillo, Liping Dong, Renata Soares, Arturo Hernández, Alejandro Caicedo, and Antonio C. Bianco • The authors conclude that Dio3 gene is preferentially expressed from the maternal allele in pancreatic islets and that inactivation of this allele is sufficient to disrupt glucose homeostasis by reducing pancreatic islet area, insulin2 gene expression and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.

Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance: Focus on Endocrine Disrupting Compounds • Emilie F. Rissman and Mazhar Adli • The goal of this article is to educate readers about the range of possible epigenetic mechanisms that exist and encourage researchers to think broadly and apply multiple genomic and epigenomic technologies to their work.

Estradiol Modulates Translocator Protein (TSPO) and Steroid Acute Regulatory Protein (StAR) via Protein Kinase A (PKA) signaling in Hypothalamic Astrocytes • Claire Chen, John Kuo, Angela Wong, and Paul Micevych • The experiments detailed in this paper completed the characterization of how estradiol action at the membrane leads to the augmentation of neuroprogesterone synthesis through increasing cAMP, activation of PKA and the phosphorylation of TSPO and StAR in hypothalamic astrocytes.

Naturally Occurring Mutants Inform Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin Structure and Function • TsungSheng Wu and Geoffrey L. Hammond • The naturally occurring mutants described in this paper provide insight into SHBG structure and function, and defects in SHBG production or function need to be considered in the context of its utility as a biomarker of diseases.

Gut Microbiota: The Neglected Endocrine Organ • Gerard Clarke, Roman M. Stilling, Paul J Kennedy, Catherine Stanton, John F. Cryan, and Timothy G. Dinan • The authors conclude that it is tempting to speculate that therapeutic targeting of the gut microbiota may be useful in treating stress-related disorders and metabolic diseases.

Human Endometrial DNA Methylome Is Cycle-Dependent and Is Associated with Gene Expression Regulation • Sahar Houshdaran, Zara Zelenko, Juan C. Irwin, and Linda C. Giudice • Together, the data support that epigenetic mechanisms are involved in gene expression regulation in human endometrium in different hormonal milieux, adding endometrium to a small number of normal adult tissues exhibiting dynamic DNA methylation. The data also raise the possibility that interplay between steroid hormone and methylome dynamics regulate normal endometrial functions and, if abnormal, may result in endometrial dysfunction and associated disorders.