Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41017273›Full record

ArticleAlcohol, clinical & experimental research2025

Prenatal alcohol exposure increases the aggressiveness of estrogen-induced pituitary tumors in male rats.

Shaista Chaudhary, Dipak K Sarkar

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Article in Alcohol, clinical & experimental research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Shaista ChaudharyEndocrinology Program, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
Dipak K SarkarEndocrinology Program, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3237-9871

Funding

ALCOHOL AND HYPERPROLACTINEMIAR01AA011591 · NIAAA · WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY · PI SARKAR, DIPAK KUMAR · 1998 to 2022
$5.0M
NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA011591NIH HHS R01AA011591
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWe have recently shown that estrogen-induced prolactin-secreting pituitary tumors are aggressive in prenatal alcohol-exposed female rats. In this study, we investigated whether similar tumor aggressiveness occurs in estrogen-treated prenatal alcohol-exposed male rats.

methodsPregnant Fischer 344 rats were fed from gestational days 7 and 21 with a liquid diet containing ethanol 6.7% v/v (AF), pair-fed with an isocaloric liquid diet (PF), or fed chow ad libitum (AD). Alcohol-fed dams exhibited a blood alcohol concentration of 120-150 mg/dL 2 h after the last feeding. Male offspring were orchiectomized at 60 days of age and implanted subcutaneously with estradiol implants. Four months after the estradiol implants, rats were sacrificed, and pituitary tumor tissues were collected. Tumor cells were isolated and cultured for analysis.

resultsPituitary tumor cells from AF males exhibited stem-like cell properties and showed elevated expression of stem cell regulatory genes and proteins (SOX-2, OCT-4, KLF4, SNAIL-1, and Nestin), tumor aggressiveness markers (MMP-9, CD44, CD34, PTTG, FGFR4, Ki-67, N-Cadherin), and prolactin compared to those from AD and PF controls. AF cells also had a higher cell proliferation rate, increased invasiveness, and colony formation compared to those in AD and PF cells, indicating more aggressive cancer cells than control cells. Notably, AF cells had a higher expression of developmental pluripotency-associated 4 (Dppa4), a gene we recently identified as upregulated in aggressive tumors and in fetal alcohol-exposed animals.

conclusionsThese findings are consistent with our previous observations in estrogen-treated AF female rats. These results support the hypothesis that prenatal alcohol exposure programs the pituitary epithelium toward a mesenchymal stem cell-like phenotype, contributing to the development of aggressive pituitary prolactinomas in both sexes.

Indexed as

EstradiolEstrogensEthanolPituitary NeoplasmsPrenatal Exposure Delayed EffectsAnimalsFemaleKruppel-Like Factor 4MalePregnancyRatsRats, Inbred F344EstradiolEstrogensEthanolKlf4 protein, ratKruppel-Like Factor 4aggressive pituitary tumorscell stemnessdevelopmental pluripotency associated 4 geneFischer male ratsprenatal alcohol exposure

Identifiers

PMID41017273
PMCPMC12638280

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.