Sex steroids play an important role in skin morphology and physiology. To evaluate the specific effects of sex steroids, the thickness of each skin layer was measured in intact and gonadectomized (GDX) male and female mice, as well as in GDX animals treated for 3 wk with 17beta-estradiol (E2), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), or their precursor dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Morphological analysis shows that the dorsal skin of intact male is thicker than in the female, whereas the epidermis and hypodermis are thicker in the female. After GDX, epidermal thickness decreases only in the female to become similar to that of the intact male. Epidermal thickness in GDX animals of both sexes increases after E2 treatment to a value similar to that of intact females, whereas an increase is observed only in females after DHEA treatment. Both DHEA and DHT increased dermal thickness whereas E2, DHT, and DHEA markedly reduced hypodermal thickness in GDX animals of both sexes. Under all conditions, the hypodermis remains thicker in females. GDX triggers a rapid hair growth from telogen to anagen with a thicker hair shaft diameter in females. This data shows that DHT, E2, and DHEA exert specific effects on the different skin layers and appendages.
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.) represents a model species for all fleshy fruits due to its biological cycle and the availability of numerous genetic and molecular resources. Its importance in human nutrition has made it one of the most valuable worldwide commodities. Tomato fruit size results from the combination of cell number and cell size, which are determined by both cell division and expansion. As fruit growth is mainly driven by cell expansion, cells from the (fleshy) pericarp tissue become highly polyploid according to the endoreduplication process, reaching a DNA content rarely encountered in other plant species (between 2C and 512C). Both cell division and cell expansion are under the control of complex interactions between hormone signalling and carbon partitioning, which establish crucial determinants of the quality of ripe fruit, such as the final size, weight, and shape, and organoleptic and nutritional traits. This review describes the genes known to contribute to fruit growth in tomato.
Solid tumors often display chemotherapy resistance. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the archetype of resistant tumors as current chemotherapies are inefficient. The tumor stroma and extracellular matrix (ECM) are key contributors to PDAC aggressiveness and to limiting the efficacy of chemotherapy. Lysyl oxidase (LOX) family members mediate collagen cross-linking and thus promote ECM stiffening. Our data demonstrate increased LOX, LOXL1, and LOXL2 expression in PDAC, and that the level of fibrillar collagen, which is directly dependent of LOX family activity, is an independent predictive biomarker of adjuvant “Gemcitabine-based chemotherapy” benefit. Experimentally in mice, increased LOX family activity through LOXL2 promotes chemoresistance. This effect of LOX family activity seems to be due to decreased gemcitabine intra-tumoral diffusion. This observation might be explained by increased fibrillar collagen and decreased vessel size observed in tumors with increased LOX family activity. In conclusion, our data support that LOX family activity is both a novel target to improve chemotherapy as well as a novel biomarker to predict gemcitabine benefit in PDAC. Beyond the PDAC, it is possible that targeting LOX family activity might improve efficacy of chemotherapies against different kinds of solid tumors.
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