Vitamin E deficiency has been found to impair bone calcification. This study was done to determine the effects of vitamin E deficiency and supplementation on parathyroid hormone, i.e. the hormone involved in bone regulation. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups: 1) normal rat chow (RC), 2) vitamin E deficiency (VED), vitamin E deficient rats supplemented with 3) 60 mg/kg alpha-tocotrienol (ATT) and 4) 60 mg/kg (alpha-tocopherol (ATF). Treatment was carried out for 3 months. Vitamin E deficiency caused hypocalcaemia during the first month of the treatment period, increased the parathyroid hormone level in the second month and decreased the bone calcium content in the 4th lumbar bone at the end of the treatment. Vitamin E supplementation (ATT and ATF) failed to improve these conditions. The bone formation marker, osteocalcin, and the bone resorption marker, deoxypyridinoline did not change throughout the study period. In conclusion vitamin E deficiency impaired bone calcium homeostasis with subsequent secondary hyperparathyroidism and vertebral bone loss. Replacing the vitamin E with pure ATF or pure ATT alone failed to correct the changes seen.
Organoids are self-organized cellular clusters in three-dimensional culture, which can be derived from a single stem cell, progenitor or cell clusters of different lineages resembling in vivo tissue architecture of an organ. In the recent years, organoids technology has contributed to the revolutionary changes in stem cell and cancer fields. In this review, we have briefly overviewed the emerging landscape of prostate organoid technology (POT) in prostate research. In addition, we have also summarized the potential application of POT in the understanding of prostate stem cell and cancer biology and the discovery of novel therapeutic strategies for prostate cancer. Lastly, we have critically discussed key challenges that lie in the current state of POT and provided a future perspective on the second-generation of POT, which should better recapitulate cellular behaviors and drug responses of prostate cancer patients.