The prostate comprises a glandular epithelium embedded within a fibromuscular stroma. The stroma is a complex arrangement of cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) components in addition to growth factors, regulatory molecules, remodelling enzymes, blood vessels, nerves and immune cells. The principal sources of ECM components are fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells (SMC), which synthesize the structural and regulatory components of the ECM. Telocytes (TCs) were recently described as a novel stromal cell type that exhibited characteristic features. The aim of this study was to confirm the presence of TCs in prostate stromal tissue of gerbils, as the stromal compartment of this gland is a dynamic microenvironment. We used transmission electron microscopy (TEM), light microscopy and immunohistochemistry methods to provide morphological evidence for the presence of TCs. Cells that resembled TCs were observed in gerbil prostatic stroma. These cells had small cellular bodies with very thin and extremely long cellular processes. They were found primarily in the subepithelial area and also at the periphery of SMC layers. TCs also exhibited moniliform processes, caveolae and nuclei surrounded by small amounts of cytoplasm. Close contacts between TC podomers were evident, particularly in the adjacent epithelial compartment. This morphological evidence supported the presence of TCs in the gerbil prostatic stroma, which we report for the first time.

In this article, the structural refinement, morphology and optical properties of barium strontium molybdate [(Ba1−xSrx)MoO4 with x = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1] crystals, synthesized by the co‐precipitation (drop‐by‐drop) method, are reported. The crystals obtained were structurally characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Rietveld refinement, and Fourier transform–Raman (FT–Raman) and Fourier transform–infrared (FT–IR) spectroscopies. The shapes of the crystals were observed by means of field‐emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM). The optical properties were investigated using ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. XRD patterns, Rietveld refinement, and FT–Raman and FT–IR spectra showed that all of the crystals are monophasic with a scheelite‐type tetragonal structure. The refined lattice parameters and atomic positions were employed to model the [BaO8], [SrO8] and [MoO4] clusters in the tetragonal lattices. The FE‐SEM images indicate that increased x content produces a decrease in the crystal size and modifications in the crystal shape. UV–Vis spectra indicated a decrease in the optical band gap with an increase in x in the (Ba1−xSrx)MoO4 crystals. Finally, a decrease in the intensity of PL emission is apparent with an increase in x up to 0.75 in the (Ba1−xSrx)MoO4 crystal lattice when excited by a wavelength of 350 nm, probably associated with the degree of structural order–disorder.

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Higher concentrations of palmitate on PC3 cells and palmitate and insulin on PNT1A cells stimulate cellular activities that could favor cancer progression. Metformin inhibited most of these stimuli, showing the efficacy of this drug for cancer adjuvant therapy in obese patients (a group at increased risk for the development of prostrate cancer).

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