Thematic Issue: Immuno-endocrinology 2020
January 2020
Read our special collection of journal articles, published in 2018-2019, focused on immuno-endocrinology! Curation of the collection was guided by Altmetric Attention Scores and Featured Article designations.
New techniques and therapies have allowed increased attention to the myriad ways in which the endocrine and immune systems interact. Research on these interactions holds the promise of deeper understanding of vital processes and improved therapies, including ones that target cancer and those that aim to prevent autoimmune attacks on endocrine organs.
Rutman and associates provide in Endocrinology impressive evidence that extracellular vesicles from pancreatic islets are internalized by immune cells, leading to proinflammatory immune responses. Jansson and her team, working to develop an immunotherapy for Graves’ disease, found they could induce tolerance to the thyrotropin receptor with soluble peptides in a mouse model and that current drug treatments did not disrupt this mechanism. Aaron Cox and his coauthors highlight in their review evidence that immune cells and adipocytes coordinately enable expansion of white adipose tissue and energy homeostasis—immune responses are not all bad. Vermilllion and colleagues find that estriol strikingly moderates the immune response to influenza virus infection in mice but does not impair clearance of the virus.
On the clinical side, Venneri and colleagues show in JCEM that the timing of glucocorticoid administration to patients with adrenal insufficiency affects the regulation of circadian genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells: (Non-standard) daily administration restores gene expression to the levels in controls. Hiam and colleagues look at epigenetic reprogramming of immune cells in women with PCOS, and find that the syndrome is associated with global and gene-specific DNA methylation remodeling in a cell-type-specific manner. Skov and associates find that ischemic heart disease is higher in patients with autoimmune Addison disease, especially women. Falhammar and his coauthors, writing in JES, report that autoimmune thyroid and other endocrine disorders are much more common in patients with 21-hydroxylase deficiency than in controls and hint at possible explanations. Head and colleagues, also in JES, find in a retrospective review evidence that immunotherapy with pembrolizumab in combination with mitotane seems to extend the lives of patients with metastatic adrenocortical cancer.
Endocrine complications of the newly approved immune checkpoint inhibitor cancer drugs are the topic of a comprehensive review in Endocrine Reviews by Lee-Shing Chang and coauthors, and in the same journal Masaaki Yamamoto and colleagues discuss a newly described pituitary autoimmune disease, anti-PIT-1 hypophysitis, and isolated ACTH deficiency as paraneoplastic syndromes.
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
Circadian Rhythm of Glucocorticoid Administration Entrains Clock Genes in Immune Cells: A DREAM Trial Ancillary Study
Adrenal insufficiency (AI) requires lifelong glucocorticoid (GC) replacement.
Epigenetic Reprogramming of Immune Cells in Women With PCOS Impact Genes Controlling Reproductive Function
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a chronic disease affecting reproductive function and whole-body metabolism.
Sex-Specific Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Autoimmune Addison Disease—A Population-Based Cohort Study
Little is known of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in autoimmune Addison disease (AAD).
Endocrinology
Immunotherapy With Apitopes Blocks the Immune Response to TSH Receptor in HLA-DR Transgenic Mice
We have combined major histocompatibility complex–binding assays with immunization and tolerance induction experiments in HLA-DR3 transgenic mice to design apitopes (antigen-processing independent epitopes) derived from thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) for treatment of patients with Graves’ disease (GD).
Immune Response to Extracellular Vesicles From Human Islets of Langerhans in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes
The autoimmune response that characterizes type 1 diabetes (T1D) has no clear cause.
Immune Cells Gate White Adipose Tissue Expansion
The immune system plays a critical role in white adipose tissue (WAT) energy homeostasis and, by extension, whole-body metabolism.
Estriol Reduces Pulmonary Immune Cell Recruitment and Inflammation to Protect Female Mice From Severe Influenza
Estriol (E3) is an endogenous estrogen in females with broad biological activity within diverse tissue types.
Journal of the Endocrine Society
Response to Immunotherapy in Combination With Mitotane in Patients With Metastatic Adrenocortical Cancer
Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare orphan disease with a dismal prognosis.
Increased Risk of Autoimmune Disorders in 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency: A Swedish Population-Based National Cohort Study
The prevalence of autoimmune disorders in individuals with 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD) is unclear.
Endocrine Reviews
Endocrine Toxicity of Cancer Immunotherapy Targeting Immune Checkpoints
Immune checkpoints are small molecules expressed by immune cells that play critical roles in maintaining immune homeostasis.
Autoimmune pituitary disease: New concepts with clinical implications
Some endocrine disorders, including hypophysitis and isolated ACTH deficiency, are caused by an autoimmune response to endocrine organs.
