The reproductive regulation of LPXRFa and its receptor in the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis of the spotted scat (Scatophagus argus).

Gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) plays a critical role in regulating gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), gonadotropin hormone (GtH), and steroidogenesis. The Lpxrfa (the piscine ortholog of GnIH) system has been found to regulate fish reproduction. To gain insight into the role of Lpxrfa in the regulation of spotted scat (Scatophagus argus) reproduction, spotted scat Lpxrfa (ssLpxrfa), and its receptor (ssLpxrfa-r) were cloned and analyzed. Tissue distribution and expression patterns at the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPG axis) of sslpxrfa and sslpxrfa-r mRNA were also investigated during gonadal development of spotted scat. The open reading frame (ORF) of the sslpxrfa was 606 bp encoding 201 amino acids and includes a putative signal peptide and two mature ssLpxrfa peptides with LPXRFamide motif at their C-terminus. The sslpxrfa-r ORF was 1449 bp encoding 482 amino acids and contracted a seven-hydrophobic transmembrane (TM) domain structure. The tissue distribution showe d that the sslpxrfa was highly expressed in hypothalami, gill, and the gonads. In addition, sslpxrfa-r was highly expressed in hypothalami, pituitaries, and the gonads. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) revealed that sslpxrfa had the highest expression in the hypothalami and pituitaries, and the lowest expression in the gonads in stage V. During gonadal development, the expression of sslpxrfa-r was gradually increased in the hypothalami but reduced in the gonads. However, no obvious trend was observed in the pituitaries. The expression of sslpxrfa and sslpxrfa-r decreased significantly after injection with 17ß-estradiol (E2). However, the expression of both sslpxrfa and sslpxrfa-r was not changed after injection with 17α-methyltestosterone(17α-MT) in the hypothalami. In addition, no changes were observed in the expression of fshß and lhß in the pituitaries after injecting ssLpxrfa-1. However, ssLpxrfa-2 could downregulate the expression of sbgnrh and fshß in the hypothalami and pituitaries, respectively. Taken together, these findings suggested that ssLpxrfa may participate in E2 feedback in reproduction and regulate the reproductive axis of spotted scat.

[Neuroendocrine differentiated prostate adenocarcinoma: Report of 23 cases and review of the literature].

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical features and prognosis of neuroendocrine differentiated prostate adenocarcinoma (NED/AdPC). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data on 23 cases of NED/AdPC treated between 2005 and 2018, among which, 18 had lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). RESULTS: All the 23 patients were diagnosed with NED/AdPC, including 2 cases of AdPC initially diagnosed and confirmed with neuroendocrine differentiation in a second pathological diagnosis after androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). In addition to hormonal therapy for all the cases, 3 of the patients were treated by radical prostatectomy combined with adjuvant chemo- and radiotherapy, 13 by palliative transurethral bipolar plasmakinetic resection of the prostate (pTU-PKRP), of whom 2 underwent a second pTU-PKRP and chemotherapy for castration resistance, 2 with chronic renal insufficiency by percutaneous nephrostomy because of extensive pelvic metastasis, and the other 5 by ADT alone or in combination with radiotherapy. During the follow-up of 7 to 60 months, 2 of the patients died of cancer progression and 1 of pulmonary infection, while the others survived with effective control of the tumor. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term ADT may induce neuroendocrine differentiation in AdPC patients. For early-stage NED/AdPC, radical prostatectomy combined with adjuvant therapy is a main therapeutic option, while for advanced NED/AdPC, pTU-PKRP in combination with ADT may relieve LUTS and improve the patients' quality of life.

Molecular cloning, characterization and expression analysis of spexin in spotted scat (Scatophagus argus).

Spexin (Spx), a novel neuropeptide, composed of 14 amino acid residues, is evolutionally conserved from fish to mammals. It has been suggested that Spx has pleiotropic functions in mammals. However, reports about Spx are very limited. To clarify the roles of Spx in the regulation of reproduction and food-intake in the spotted scat, the spx (ssspx) gene was cloned and analyzed. Analysis of the tissue distribution by RT-PCR showed that ssspx expression was widespread. During ovary development, expression of ssspx was found to be highest in phase II, moderate in phase III, and at its lowest level in phase IV. Ssspx expression was significantly down-regulated in the hypothalamus after treatment with E2 both in vitro and in vivo. A significant increase of ssspx was observed after 2 and 7 days of food deprivation. However, the ssspx transcript levels in the 7 day fasting group decreased significantly after refeeding 3 h after the scheduled feeding time. This suggests that ssSpx may be involved in the regulation of reproduction and food-intake in the spotted scat.