Most neurons store peptides in large dense core vesicles (LDCVs) and release the neuropeptides in a regulated manner. Although LDCVs have been studied in endocrine cells, less is known about these storage organelles in neurons. In this study we use the endogenous peptide NPY (neuropeptide Y) and the endogenous peptide-processing enzyme PAM (peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase) as tool...

abstract background the aim of the present study was to determine the endocrine dysfunction in patients with major thalassemia, who receive hyper transfusion. materials and methods this cross sectional study was performed during one year, which included 65 major thalassemia patients (31 females and 34 males), aged between 14 month to 27 years old (median 10,3). growth assessment was measured by...

BACKGROUND Basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors play important roles in differentiation processes during embryonic development of vertebrates. In the pancreas, the atonal-related bHLH gene Neurogenin3 (Neurog3) controls endocrine cell fate specification in uncommitted progenitor cells. Therefore, it is likely that Neurog3-regulated factors will have important functions during pan...

In the pancreas, Notch signaling is thought to prevent cell differentiation, thereby maintaining progenitors in an undifferentiated state. Here, we show that Notch renders progenitors competent to differentiate into ductal and endocrine cells by inducing activators of cell differentiation. Notch signaling promotes the expression of Sox9, which cell-autonomously activates the pro-endocrine gene ...

Differentiation of pancreatic β-cells is regulated by a wide range of signalling pathways. The aim of our current work was to evaluate the effect of the Jak/Stat signalling pathway on the differentiation of human non-endocrine pancreatic cells into insulin-producing cells. Activation of the Jak/Stat signalling pathway by leukaemia inhi...

Coeliac disease is associated with intestinal lesion. This lesion causes architectural derangement of the mucosa in the form of villus atrophy, increased crypt length and increased volume of the lamina propria. Several changes in the intestinal endocrine cells have been reported over the years, e.g. the number of secretin cells and increased numbers of GIP, CCK/gastrin, motilin, and serotonin c...

Morphogenesis, spontaneous formation of organism structure, is essential for life. In the pancreas, endocrine α, β, and δ cells are clustered to form islets of Langerhans, the critical micro-organ for glucose homeostasis. The spatial organization of endocrine cells in islets looks different between species. Based on the three-dimensional positions of individual cells in islets, we computational...

Among the nineteen functionally distinct endocrine cell types that populate the gastrointestinal mucosa, some (e.g., the serotonin-producing enterochromaffin (EC)b cells, and the somatostatin-producing D cells, etc.) are dispersed diffusely all along its length, while others (e.g., the histamine-producing enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells, the gastrinproducing G cells, the secretin-producing S ...

The distribution and density of gastric endocrine cells in Balb/c mice bearing CT-26 carcinoma cells were studied immunohistochemically employing specific antisera against serotonin, somatostatin, glucagon, gastrin, cholecystokinin (CCK)-8 and human pancreatic polypeptide (hPP). The animals were divided into two groups, a non-implanted sham group and a CT-26 carcinoma cell-implanted group. Samp...

Background: Varicocele (VCL) impacts the testicular tissue partly by down-regulating the antioxidant status accomplished with reducing the intra-testicular endocrine potential. It has been reported that the HSP70 families play a critical role in spermiogenesis. Therefore, current study was aimed to evaluate the protective effect of exogenous testosterone and vitamin E administration on VCL-indu...