Prostate histological investigation in rats exposed to bisphenol a and phytochemicals during the perinatal period and subjected to hormonal stimulus in adulthood

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an environmentally dispersed chemical associated with tumor development. Phytochemicals such as indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and genistein (GEN) have chemoprotective effects on tumor cells. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the prostatic morphological aspects of rats exposed to BPA, GEN, and I3C during the perinatal period and submitted to hormonal stimulus in adulthood. Blood was collected to obtain hormone concentrations. Slides stained with hematoxylin & eosin, and picrosirius were subjected to fractal, stereological, morphometric, and collagen quantification analysis. I3C decreased the plasma dihydrotestosterone levels, and both phytochemicals increased the plasma estrogen levels. Unlike phytochemicals, BPA did not alter any of the parameters evaluated. GEN reduced the epithelial height, while I3C increased the fractal dimension and stromal collagen. Although BPA did not alter the prostate morphology, the phytochemicals provided beneficial effects for the prostate histological organization in adult animals subjected to hormonal stimulus.

Fractal analysis is a useful tool for evaluating prostate tissue remodeling caused by ethanol consumption and androgen therapy

Alcohol has been widely consumed for centuries and is linked to the aggravation of diseases. Several studies have shown that excessive consumption of ethanol results in morphophysiological changes in the male reproductive system. One of the effects of ethanol is the decrease in testosterone concentration and hormonal therapies are an alternative to minimize the changes resulting from chronic alcoholism. Qualitative studies were commonly carried out to evaluate the male histopathological alterations resulting from ethanol consumption, being necessary quantitative and non-subjective techniques. This study analyzes the importance of fractal analysis as a useful tool to identify and quantify tissue remodeling in rats submitted to ethanol consumption and hormone therapy with testosterone. Prostate of animals submitted to chronic ethanol consumption showed tissue disorganization, which was confirmed by an increasing of fractal dimension. Regarding the prostatic stroma, collagen fractal dimension and quantification revealed lower values in animals that were only submitted to androgen therapy. Thus, we can conclude that the fractal analysis was a useful tool to quantify tissue changes caused by ethanol consumption and androgen therapy.

Collagen type IV-related nephropathies in Portugal: pathogenic COL4A5 mutations and clinical characterization of 22 families

Alport syndrome (AS) is caused by pathogenic mutations in the genes encoding α3, α4 or α5 chains of collagen IV (COL4A3/COL4A4/COL4A5), resulting in hematuria, chronic renal failure (CRF), sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and ocular abnormalities. Mutations in the X-linked COL4A5 gene have been identified in 85% of the families (XLAS). In this study, 22 of 60 probands (37%) of unrelated Portuguese families, with clinical diagnosis of AS and no evidence of autosomal inheritance, had pathogenic COL4A5 mutations detected by Sanger sequencing and/or multiplex-ligation probe amplification, of which 12 (57%) are novel. Males had more severe and earlier renal and extrarenal complications, but microscopic hematuria was a constant finding irrespective of gender. Nonsense and splice site mutations, as well as small and large deletions, were associated with younger age of onset of SNHL in males, and with higher risk of CRF and SNHL in females. Pathogenic COL4A3 or COL4A4 mutations were subsequently identified in more than half of the families without a pathogenic mutation in COL4A5. The lower than expected prevalence of XLAS in Portuguese families warrants the use of next-generation sequencing for simultaneous COL4A3/COL4A4/COL4A5 analysis, as first-tier approach to the genetic diagnosis of collagen type IV-related nephropathies.