Resveratrol improves prostate fibrosis during progression of urinary dysfunction in chronic prostatitis

AIM

We investigated whether prostate fibrosis was associated with urinary dysfunction in chronic prostatitis (CP) and whether resveratrol improved urinary dysfunction and the underlying molecular mechanism.

METHODS

Rat model of CP was established via subcutaneous injections of DPT vaccine and subsequently treated with resveratrol. Bladder pressure and volume tests investigated the effect of resveratrol on urinary dysfunction in CP rats. Western blotting and immunohistochemical staining examined the expression level of C-kit/SCF and TGF-β/Wnt/β-catenin.

RESULTS

Compared to the control group, the maximum capacity of the bladder, residual urine volume and maximum voiding pressure, the activity of C-kit/SCF and TGF-β/Wnt/β-catenin pathways were increased significantly in the CP group. Resveratrol treatment significantly improved these factors.

CONCLUSION

CP induced significantly prostate fibrosis, which exhibits a close relationship with urinary dysfunction. Resveratrol improved fibrosis, which may be associated with the suppression of C-kit/SCF and TGF-β/Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

Effect of strain on ferroelectric and magnetic behavior in Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3-based magnetoelectric heterostructures

In this paper, the "sandwich" structured magnetoelectric composite films of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/ NiFe2O4/Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 and Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/CoFe2O4/Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 are epitaxially grown on SrRuO3/SrTiO3 substrates by pulsed-laser deposition. The crystalline quality and microstructures of these heterostructures are investigated by X-ray diffraction technique. The effects of strain on the ferroelectric, magnetic and magnetoelectric coupling properties of these thin films are systematically studied. The results show that the strain effect induced by lattice mismatch between the ferroelectric/ferromagnetic layers plays an important role in the ferroelectric and magnetic properties of these composite films. Compared to the strained Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/ CoFe2O4/Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 heterostructure, improved ferroelectric properties with an out-of-plane polarization (2P(r)) of 34.2 microC/cm2 and electric coercivity field of 158 kV/cm are obtained in the strain-free Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/NiFe2O4/Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 heterostructure. The ME measurement results not only show that the strain induced by lattice mismatch has great influence on the ME behavior, but also provide an understanding of the multilayers with full control over the interface structure at the atomic-scale.