We tested whether changes in Sertoli cell transcription factors and germ cell heat shock proteins (HSPs) are linked to the effects of maternal undernutrition on male offspring fertility. Rats were fed ad libitum with a standard diet (CONTROL) throughout pregnancy and lactation or with 50% of CONTROL intake throughout pregnancy (UNP) or lactation (UNL) or both periods (UNPL). After postnatal Day 21, 10 male pups per group were fed a standard diet ad libitum until postnatal Day 160 when testes were processed for histological, mRNA and immunohistochemical analyses. Compared with CONTROL: caspase-3 was increased in UNP and UNPL (P=0.001); Bax was increased in UNL (P=0.002); Bcl-2 (P<0.0001) was increased in all underfed groups; glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (P=0.002) was increased in UNP and UNL; E twenty-six transformation variant gene 5 and HSP70 were increased, and HSP90 was diminished in all underfed groups (P<0.0001). It appears that maternal undernutrition during pregnancy and lactation disrupts the balance between proliferation and apoptosis in germ cells, increasing germ cell production and perhaps exceeding the support capacity of the Sertoli cells. Moreover, fertility could be further compromised by changes in meiosis and spermiogenesis mediated by germ cell HSP90 and HSP70.
We studied a 14-year-old male dog necropsied. Gross findings were hemorrhagic nodules in the spleen, liver, heart and abdominal and thoracic lymph nodes. Histologically, we homogeneously observed tumor cells often with prominent, bulging and mitotic nuclei that were pleomorphic and hyperchromatic, forming small blood vessels. Tumors in all organs were diagnosed as capillary hemangiosarcomas. No tumor cells were detected in the lungs. We presume that the primary tumor was present in the spleen, from where it metastasized multiple organs via lymphatic vessels.
There are no reports of what kind of spleen tumors have developed within a certain period of time in Uruguay. Therefore, we investigated spleen tumors that were surgically resected and brought into our laboratory for a year (2019-2020). As a result, 9 splenic tumors were observed. Hemangiosarcomas occurred at the highest incidence in 6 of 9 cases. In addition, 1 case each of lymphoma, fibrosarcoma, and perivascular wall tumor was observed. Furthermore, the perivascular wall tumor, which has not been reported so far, was observed in a seven years-old female Cocker Spaniel.
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