Concentrations of the adrenocorticotropic hormone, corticosterone and sex steroid hormones and the expression of the androgen receptor in the pituitary and adrenal glands of male turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) during growth and development

Loss of Myostatin Affects m6A Modification but Not Semen Characteristics in Bull Spermatozoa

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is a key methylation modification involved in reproductive processes. Myostatin gene editing (MT) in cattle is known to enhance muscle mass and productivity. However, the changes in m6A modification in MT bull sperm remain poorly understood. In the MT and wild-type (WT) groups, we identified 25,542 and 22,253 m6A peaks, respectively, mainly concentrated in the coding sequence (CDS) and 3' untranslated region (UTR) of genes. The MT group showed an increase in gene transcription, but there was no significant difference in the overall m6A peaks pattern. There was also no significant difference in m6A motif and chromosome distribution between MT and WT groups. Most genes had less m6A modification sites. A total of 1120 m6A peaks were significantly different, corresponding to 1053 differentially m6A-methylated genes (DMMGs). These DMMGs are mainly associated with G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathways and the overall composition of the cell membrane. Furthermore, an MCL clustering analysis of 111 differentially m6A-methylated and expressed genes identified seven key genes (RHOA, DAAM1, EXOC4, GNA12, PRICKLE1, SCN1A, and STXBP5L), with the cytoskeleton and migration-related gene, RHOA, being the most important gene located at the center of the gene network. However, the analysis of sperm morphology and motility indicated no significant changes in semen volume, sperm count, sperm viability, plasma membrane integrity, acrosome membrane integrity, or mitochondrial membrane integrity. This study provides a map of m6A methylation in spermatozoa from MT and WT bulls, identifies key differential m6A genes that are affected by the myostatin gene but do not affect sperm morphology and viability in MT bulls, and provides a theoretical basis for the breeding quality of MT bulls.

Patient-reported outcomes of rezvilutamide versus bicalutamide in combination with androgen deprivation therapy in high-volume metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer patients (CHART): a randomized, phase 3 study

The randomized phase 3 CHART trial (NCT03520478) revealed that rezvilutamide (REZ) plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in high-volume, metastatic, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) significantly enhanced radiographic progression-free and overall survival than bicalutamide (BIC)-ADT. Accordingly, we examined patient-reported outcomes (PROs) results, which were exploratory endpoints in the CHART trial. The patients were randomly allocated to receive REZ-ADT or BIC-ADT in a 1:1 ratio. The PROs were evaluated with the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate (FACT-P) questionnaires. Both study groups displayed comparable baseline pain scores and functional status. Patients administered REZ-ADT had an extended time to progression of worst pain intensity in comparison to those treated with BIC-ADT (25th percentile, 9.2 [95% CI 7.4-16.6] vs. 6.4 months [95% CI 5.5-8.3]; HR 0.75 [95% CI 0.57-0.97]; p = 0.026). Similarly, patients received REZ-ADT exhibited a delayed time to progression of pain interference in comparison to those receiving BIC-ADT (25th percentile, 20.2 [95% CI 12.9-31.3] vs. 10.2 months [95% CI 7.4-11.1]; HR 0.70 [95% CI 0.52-0.93]; p = 0.015). Additionally, the REZ-ADT group demonstrated a prolonged delay in the deterioration of the total score on the FACT-P questionnaire (25th percentile, 12.8 [95% CI 7.4-20.3] vs. 6.0 months [95% CI 4.6-9.2]; HR 0.66 [95% CI 0.50-0.86]; p = 0.002), as well as most of the FACT-P subscale scores, in comparison to the BIC-ADT group. In conclusion, REZ-ADT is superior to BIC-ADT regarding the pain alleviation and enhancement of functional scales for high-volume mHSPC.

Galanin Receptors (GalR1, GalR2, and GalR3) Expression in Colorectal Cancer Tissue and Correlations to the Overall Survival and Poor Prognosis of CRC Patients

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of cancer in women and the third in men. The postoperative pathomorphological evaluation of patients with CRC is extremely important for future therapeutic decisions. Although our previous studies demonstrated high galanin (GAL) presence within tumor tissue and an elevated concentration of GAL in the serum of CRC patients, to date, there is a lack of data regarding GAL receptor (GalR) protein expression in CRC cells. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of all three types of GalRs (GalR1, GalR2 and GalR3) within epithelial cells of the human colon and CRC tissue with the use of the immunohistochemical method and to correlate the results with the clinical-pathological data. We found stronger immunoreactivity of GalR1 and GalR3 in CRC cells compared to epithelial cells of the unchanged mucosa of the large intestine. No differences in the GalR2 protein immunoreactivity between the studied tissues were noted. We also found that the increased immunoexpression of the GalR3 in CRC tissue correlated with the better prognosis and longer survival (p < 0.0079) of CRC patients (n = 55). The obtained results suggest that GalR3 may play the role of a prognostic factor for CRC patients. Based on data from the TCGA-COAD project deposited in the GDC Data Portal, we also found that GalR mRNA in cancer samples and the adjacent normal tissue did not correlate with immunoexpression of the GalR proteins in CRC cells and epithelial cells of the unchanged mucosa.

The Development and Optimization of Primer Sets Used to Study the Relative Expression of Androgen Receptor Gene in Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

The Androgen Receptor (AR) Gene’s expression is essential during puberty and testes maturation, which is also used as a reference for Turkey’s breeding program. Therefore, this study aims to develop and optimize two primer sets for studying relative expression using qPCR technology. The primers were designed to amplify specific regions in the AR gene as the main target, and the β-actin gene as an internal control. They were tested using in-silico and amplicon sequencing, as well as efficiency calculation with a constructed standard curve from serially diluted reactions. Based on the sequencing methods, the primers amplified the corresponding regions of the respective targets. The primer for AR gene had an efficiency of 98.03%, a slope of -3.37, and an R2 of 0.995, while that of the β-actin gene had an efficiency of 98.01%, a slope of -3.371, and an R2 of 0.999. The two efficiencies exceeded the standard (93 -103%) value and the melting curve analysis showed that no non-specific amplification was discovered for both primers. According to the tests, the primers are suggested as acceptable to be used for the relative expression study of the AR gene in Turkey.

Effects of Testicular and Non-Testicular Testosterone on Territorial and Isolation-induced Aggressive Behavior of Male Layer Chicks

Testosterone (T) is known to induce aggressive behavior, particularly in male animals. However, our recent results showed that a certain kind of aggressive behavior is T-independent; moreover, the role of T in chicken territorial and isolation-induced aggressive behavior has not yet been investigated. In addition, castration alone is insufficient to evaluate the role of T in aggressive behavior because we found that non-testicular T concentration, probably derived from the adrenal gland, in the blood of castrated chicks was low, but not zero. In the present study, therefore, the role of testicular T in chicken aggressive behavior was evaluated through castration, and the role of nontesticular T was assessed using the subcutaneous implantation of flutamide, a non-steroidal antiandrogen, in the castrated male layer chicks. Resident-intruder (R-I) and social interaction (SI) tests were used to quantitatively monitor territorial and isolation-induced aggressive behavior, respectively. Castration and drug implantation of the chicks were performed at 14 days of age. The R-I test was performed at 29 and 30 days of age, and the SI test was performed at 31 and 32 days of age. The total aggression frequencies (TAFs) and aggression establishment rate (AER) were used as indices of chick aggressive behavior. In the R-I test, castration significantly decreased the TAFs but the AER was not affected by castration or flutamide implantation. In the SI test, on the other hand, there were no significant differences in the TAFs, but the AER tended to increase in the intact chicks and decrease in the flutamide-implanted, castrated male chicks. These results suggest that the role of T in chicken aggression depends on the differences in social context of the behavior, and that both testicular and non-testicular T play an important role in the occurrence of isolation-induced aggression in male layer chicks.

Effects of putative stressors and adrenocorticotropic hormone on plasma concentrations of corticosterone in market-weight male turkeys

There is limited information on the effects of stress and/or physiological manipulation on plasma concentrations of corticosterone (CORT) in turkeys. Under basal conditions, there was evidence for episodic release of CORT in turkeys. The present studies determine the effects of handling, herding, herding, the administration of Escherichia coli endotoxin, and challenge with turkey adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) on plasma concentrations of CORT in market-weight male turkeys. Plasma concentrations of CORT were increased after challenge with turkey ACTH, handling together with saline injection or herding (moving birds from one pen to another). There were no effects on plasma concentrations of CORT of the following putative stressors: handling per se, endotoxin challenge, or of placing in an inverted position on simulated shackles.

Prediction of alcohol drinking in adolescents: Personality-traits, behavior, brain responses, and genetic variations in the context of reward sensitivity

Adolescence is a time that can set the course of alcohol abuse later in life. Sensitivity to reward on multiple levels is a major factor in this development. We examined 736 adolescents from the IMAGEN longitudinal study for alcohol drinking during early (mean age=14.37) and again later (mean age=16.45) adolescence. Conducting structural equation modeling we evaluated the contribution of reward-related personality traits, behavior, brain responses and candidate genes. Personality seems to be most important in explaining alcohol drinking in early adolescence. However, genetic variations in ANKK1 (rs1800497) and HOMER1 (rs7713917) play an equal role in predicting alcohol drinking two years later and are most important in predicting the increase in alcohol consumption. We hypothesize that the initiation of alcohol use may be driven more strongly by personality while the transition to increased alcohol use is more genetically influenced.