Successful hormonal and chemical induction of prostate cancer in a rat model: practical guidelines.

Prostate cancer is a very common cancer in men, affecting approximately 1.40 million men worldwide in 2020. To improve the quality of life and survival of both animals and humans, effective therapeutic approaches have been developed and evaluated using animal models.

Beyond the threshold - Different accumulation of organochlorine compounds in common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) inhabiting continental and insular ecosystems in the Northeast Atlantic.

Assessing persistent organic pollutant (POP) levels across regions helps evaluate environmental health and determine ecological risks. As an apex predator, the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) serves as an excellent model for understanding POP exposure and impact in Eastern North Atlantic marine ecosystems. In this study, we collected biopsy samples of common dolphins in two ecoregions, the pelagic system of Madeira Island (Portugal) (n = 30) and in the continental shelf of Northwest Portugal (n = 14) to analyse organochlorine concentrations (PCBs, DDTs, Mirex, HCB) from their blubber.

Age-associated metabolic and epigenetic barriers during direct reprogramming of mouse fibroblasts into induced cardiomyocytes.

Heart disease is the leading cause of mortality in developed countries, and novel regenerative procedures are warranted. Direct cardiac conversion (DCC) of adult fibroblasts can create induced cardiomyocytes (iCMs) for gene and cell-based heart therapy, and in addition to holding great promise, still lacks effectiveness as metabolic and age-associated barriers remain elusive. Here, by employing MGT (Mef2c, Gata4, Tbx5) transduction of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and adult (dermal and cardiac) fibroblasts from animals of different ages, we provide evidence that the direct reprogramming of fibroblasts into iCMs decreases with age.

Dyadic Partition-Based Training Schemes for TV/TGV Denoising.

Due to their ability to handle discontinuous images while having a well-understood behavior, regularizations with total variation (TV) and total generalized variation (TGV) are some of the best-known methods in image denoising. However, like other variational models including a fidelity term, they crucially depend on the choice of their tuning parameters. A remedy is to choose these automatically through multilevel approaches, for example by optimizing performance on noisy/clean image pairs.

Interplay Between Western Diet and Mammary Cancer: Data from a Chemically-induced Model in Wistar Rats.

Background/aim: This study aimed to investigate the influence of Western diet on mammary cancer in Wistar female rats, focusing on systemic responses and tumor development.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-eight Wistar female rats were acclimatized and divided into four experimental groups (n=7 each): Western diet (WD), Western diet with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) administration (WD+MNU), standard diet (CTR), and standard diet with MNU administration (CTR+MNU). MNU was administered intraperitoneally at 50 mg/kg at seven weeks of age to induce mammary cancer.

Long-term effects of the chronic administration of doxorubicin on aged skeletal muscle: An exploratory study in mice.

The widely used chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin (DOX) has been associated with adverse effects on the skeletal muscle, which can persist for years after the end of the treatment. These adverse effects may be exacerbated in older patients, whose skeletal muscle might already be impaired by aging. Nonetheless, the mediators responsible for DOX-induced myotoxicity are still largely unidentified, particularly the ones involved in the long-term effects that negatively affect the quality of life of the patients.

Isotope-based inferences of the trophic niche of short-finned pilot whales in the Webbnesia.

Knowledge of predator-prey interactions is key in ecological studies and understanding ecosystem function, yet this is still poorly explored in the deep-sea environment. Carbon (δC: C/C) and nitrogen (δN: N/N) stable isotope ratios of a deep-diving species, the short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus), were used to explore knowledge gaps on its ecological niche and foraging habitats in the Webbnesia marine ecoregion (Tenerife Island, n = 27 animals vs. Madeira, n = 31; 500 km apart) where animals display distinct levels of site fidelity.

Phthalates and fatty acid markers in free-ranging cetaceans from an insular oceanic region: Ecological niches as drivers of contamination.

Plastic additives, such as phthalates, are ubiquitous contaminants that can have detrimental impacts on marine organisms and overall ecosystems' health. Valuable information about the status and resilience of marine ecosystems can be obtained through the monitoring of key indicator species, such as cetaceans. In this study, fatty acid profiles and phthalates were examined in blubber biopsies of free-ranging individuals from two delphinid species (short-finned pilot whale - Globicephala macrorhynchus, n = 45; common bottlenose dolphin - Tursiops truncatus, n = 39) off Madeira Island (NE Atlantic).

Restoring Skeletal Muscle Health through Exercise in Breast Cancer Patients and after Receiving Chemotherapy.

Breast cancer (BC) stands out as the most commonly type of cancer diagnosed in women worldwide, and chemotherapy, a key component of treatment, exacerbates cancer-induced skeletal muscle wasting, contributing to adverse health outcomes. Notably, the impact of chemotherapy on skeletal muscle seems to surpass that of the cancer itself, with inflammation identified as a common trigger for muscle wasting in both contexts. In skeletal muscle, pro-inflammatory cytokines modulate pathways crucial for the delicate balance between protein synthesis and breakdown, as well as satellite cell activation and myonuclear accretion.

Enduring metabolic modulation in the cardiac tissue of elderly CD-1 mice two months post mitoxantrone treatment.

Mitoxantrone (MTX) is a therapeutic agent used in the treatment of solid tumors and multiple sclerosis, recognized for its cardiotoxicity, with underlying molecular mechanisms not fully disclosed. The cardiotoxicity is influenced by risk factors, including age. Our study intended to assess the molecular effect of MTX on the cardiac muscle of old male CD-1 mice.

Mixed Neuroendocrine-Non-Neuroendocrine Neoplasms of the Rectum: A Case Report.

Introduction: Mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms (MiNEN) represent roughly 1-2% of all colorectal malignancies. Given the rareness and heterogeneity of these mixed tumors, recognition and accurate diagnosis remain a challenge. In the absence of established guidelines, they are treated according to the standard of care for pure neuroendocrine carcinomas or adenocarcinomas from similar sites of origin.

Metabolomics and Cardiovascular Risk in Patients with Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The associations of plasma metabolites with adverse cardiovascular (CV) outcomes are still underexplored and may be useful in CV risk stratification. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to establish correlations between blood metabolites and adverse CV outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF). Four cohorts were included, involving 83 metabolites and 37 metabolite ratios, measured in 1158 HF patients.

Doxorubicin-induced neurotoxicity differently affects the hippocampal formation subregions in adult mice.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an anthracycline used to treat a wide range of tumours. Despite its effectiveness, it is associated with a long range of adverse effects, of which cognitive deficits stand out. The present study aimed to assess the neurologic adverse outcome pathways of two clinically relevant cumulative doses of DOX.

Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy with methylene blue and its derivatives in animal studies: Systematic review.

Background: Infections are complications in the wound healing process, and their treatment can lead to antibiotic overuse and bacterial resistance. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) is used to treat infectious diseases caused by fungi, viruses, or bacteria. Methylene blue (MB) and its derivatives are commonly used dyes in antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT-MB).

Using "Adopt a Bacterium" as an e-learning tool for simultaneously teaching microbiology to different health-related university courses.

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed challenges for education, particularly in undergraduate teaching. In this study, we report on the experience of how a private university successfully addressed this challenge through an active methodology applied to a microbiology discipline offered remotely to students from various health-related courses (veterinary, physiotherapy, nursing, biomedicine, and nutrition). Remote teaching was combined with the "Adopt a Bacterium" methodology, implemented for the first time on Google Sites.

Biocompatible adipose extracellular matrix and reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite for tissue engineering applications.

Despite the immense need for effective treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI), no successful repair strategy has yet been clinically implemented. Multifunctional biomaterials, based on porcine adipose tissue-derived extracellular matrix (adECM) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO), were recently shown to stimulate neural stem cell growth and differentiation. Nevertheless, their functional performance in clinically more relevant conditions remains largely unknown.

Shaping the future of oral cancer diagnosis: advances in salivary proteomics.

Introduction: Saliva has gained increasing attention in the quest for disease biomarkers. Because it is a biological fluid that can be collected is an easy, painless, and safe way, it has been increasingly studied for the identification of oral cancer biomarkers. This is particularly important because oral cancer is often diagnosed at late stages with a poor prognosis.

Mitochondrial remodeling underlying age-induced skeletal muscle wasting: let's talk about sex.

Sarcopenia is associated with reduced quality of life and premature mortality. The sex disparities in the processes underlying sarcopenia pathogenesis, which include mitochondrial dysfunction, are ill-understood and can be decisive for the optimization of sarcopenia-related interventions. To improve the knowledge regarding the sex differences in skeletal muscle aging, the gastrocnemius muscle of young and old female and male rats was analyzed with a focus on mitochondrial remodeling through the proteome profiling of mitochondria-enriched fractions.

Unmasking the Metabolite Signature of Bladder Cancer: A Systematic Review.

Bladder cancer (BCa) research relying on Omics approaches has increased over the last few decades, improving the understanding of BCa pathology and contributing to a better molecular classification of BCa subtypes. To gain further insight into the molecular profile underlying the development of BCa, a systematic literature search was performed in PubMed until November 2023, following the PRISMA guidelines. This search enabled the identification of 25 experimental studies using mass spectrometry or nuclear magnetic resonance-based approaches to characterize the metabolite signature associated with BCa.

Revisiting Multi-Omics Data to Unravel Galectins as Prognostic Factors in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) is a malignant cancer with a poor prognosis. Galectins (Gal) have been the subject of intensive research, but the comparative prognostic value of each Gal type is not yet understood. Therefore, a literature search for evaluating galectins as prognostic biomarkers in HNSCC was conducted.

The impact of chemotherapy on adipose tissue remodeling: The molecular players involved in this tissue wasting.

The depletion of visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue (AT) during chemotherapy significantly correlates with diminished overall survival and progression-free survival. Despite its clinical significance, the intricate molecular mechanisms governing this AT loss and its chemotherapy-triggered initiation remain poorly understood. Notably, the evaluation of AT remodeling in most clinical trials has predominantly relied on computerized tomography scans or bioimpedance, with molecular studies often conducted using animal or in vitro models.