Validation of the rat model of prostate cancer: correlating seminal vesicle lesions with dorsolateral prostate lesions

Background/aim: Lesions in the seminal vesicle are described in the most used protocols for prostate cancer (PCa) induction. This study aimed to characterize the lesions of seminal vesicles associated with a protocol of PCa induction in rats to contribute to better characterization of this model. Materials and methods: Forty-five male Wistar Unilever rats were randomly divided into two control groups: CONT1 (n=10) and CONT2 (n=10); and two PCa-induced groups: IND1 (n=10) and IND2 (n=15), sacrificed at 35 and 61 weeks, respectively. Animals from the induced groups were exposed to a multistep protocol for PCa induction. Animals, seminal vesicles and dorsolateral prostate were weighed. Seminal vesicles and dorsolateral prostate were submitted to histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis. Results: Animals in which PCa was induced had a lower mean body weight when compared with the control animals (p<0.05). The relative mean seminal vesicle weight was higher in groups with PCa when compared with control groups (p<0.05). Although the differences were not statistically significant, animals from the IND2 group developed more lesions than animals from the IND1 and CONT2 groups. It is worth noting that the animals from group IND2 developed papillary adenomas and carcinomas in situ, which were not observed in any other group. Similar to observations in seminal vesicles, animals from group IND2 developed more dorsolateral prostate lesions than animals from the IND1 group (p<0.05). Conclusion: We observed that the longer the exposure to testosterone was, the greater was the incidence of preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions in both the seminal vesicle and the prostate, suggesting that testosterone exposure affects the spectrum of developed lesions

Complete mitochondrial genomes of the freshwater mussels Amblema plicata (Say, 1817), Pleurobema oviforme (Conrad, 1834), and Popenaias popeii (Lea, 1857) (Bivalvia: Unionidae: Ambleminae)

Freshwater mussels are a critically imperiled group of mollusks that play key ecological roles and provide important services to humans. The Ambleminae is the only subfamily of these mussels, endemic to North America. Complete mitogenomes have only been sequenced for two of five tribes of the subfamily. Pleurobema oviforme, Amblema plicata, and Popenaias popeii each belong to tribes Pleurobemini, Amblemini, and Popenaidini, respectively, and have not had published mitogenomes. Thus, this study aims to present the complete mitogenomes for these species, to provide a phylogeny of the Ambleminae and confirm the gene arrangements with representation from each of its tribes. The newly sequenced mitogenomes range from 15,852 to 15,993 nucleotides, are composed of 13 PCGs, 22 tRNAs, and two rRNAs and all share the same (UF1) gene order.This work was supported by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [grant number ConBioMics/BI-Lic/2019-037 (JTT), grant number SFRH/BD/137935/2018 (AGS)]; COMPETE 2020, Portugal 2020 and the European Union through the ERDF, and by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through national funds [UID/Multi/04423/2019] under project ConBiomics: the missing approach for the Conservation of Bivalves Project, and [project number NORTE-01- 0145-FEDER-030286]. Fieldwork in Texas was funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) as a Joint Traditional Section 6 Project 407348.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio