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Bladder cancer (BC) is one of the 3 common malignant tumors in the urinary system, with high incidence, easy metastasis, poor therapeutic efficacy, and poor prognosis, which seriously threatens the health of human. Tumor cells exhibit a strong demand for iron, and iron overload can induce ferroptosis, which is an iron dependent cell death caused by lipid peroxidation and cell membrane damage. Therefore, ferroptosis has strong anti-tumor potential. The molecular mechanisms of ferroptosis is associated with abnormalities in cellular phospholipid metabolism and iron metabolism, and dysregulation of antioxidant and non-antioxidant systems Xc-/glutathione (GSH)/glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4). Ferroptosis relevant molecules play important roles in the occurrence and development, metastasis, drug resistance, and immune response of BC, and are expected to become targets for the treatment of BC.

Differential protein expression in patients with urosepsis.

PURPOSE: Urosepsis in adults comprises approximately 25% of all sepsis cases, and is due to complicated urinary tract infections in most cases. However, its mechanism is not fully clarified. Urosepsis is a very complicated disease with no effective strategy for early diagnosis and treatment. This study aimed to identify possible target-related proteins involved in urosepsis using proteomics and establish possible networks using bioinformatics. METHODS: Fifty patients admitted to the Urology Unit of Lanzhou General PLA (Lanzhou, China), from October 2012 to October 2015, were enrolled in this study. The patients were further divided into shock and matched-pair non-shock groups. 2-DE technique, mass spectrometry and database search were used to detect differentially expressed proteins in serum from the two groups. RESULTS: Six proteins were found at higher levels in the shock group compared with non-shock individuals, including serum amyloid A-1 protein (SAA1), apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1), ceruloplasmin (CP), haptoglobin (HP), antithrombin-III (SERPINC1) and prothrombin (F2), while three proteins showed lower levels, including serotransferrin (TF), transthyretin (TTR) and alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M). CONCLUSION: Nine proteins were differentially expressed between uroseptic patients (non-shock groups) and severe uroseptic patients (shock groups), compared with non-shock groups, serum SAA1, APOL1,CP, HP, SERPINC1and F2 at higher levels, while TF, TTR and A2M at lower levels in shock groups.these proteins were mainly involved in platelet activation, signaling and aggregation, acute phase protein pathway, lipid homeostasis, and iron ion transport, deserve further research as potential candidates for early diagnosis and treatment. (The conclusion seems too simple and vague, please re-write it. You may focus at what proteins have been expressed and introduce more detail about its significance.).

Performance differences of Rhode Island Red, Bashang Long-tail Chicken, and their reciprocal crossbreds under natural cold stress.

OBJECTIVE: The Bashang Long-tail chicken (BS), an indigenous Chinese breed, is considered cold tolerant. We selected BS, the Rhode Island Red (RIR), and their reciprocal crossbreds for the present study. The objectives were: i) to validate whether BS is cold tolerant and whether egg production and cold tolerance of crossbreds could be improved; and ii) to determine the physiological characteristics that underlie cold tolerance and favorable egg production performance in cold environments. METHODS: A total of 916 chickens were reared in warm and natural cold environments (daily mean ambient temperature varied from 7.4°C to 26.5°C in the warm environment and from -17.5°C to 27.0°C in the cold environment). To investigate their adaptability to the cold environment, the egg production performance and body weight were monitored and compared between breeds and environments. The cloacal temperature and serum biochemical parameters were monitored to reveal the physiological characteristics underlie cold tolerance and favorable egg production performance in the cold environment. RESULTS: The warm environment experiment showed that RIR had the highest egg production performance, and that the reciprocal crossbreds had a higher egg production performance than BS. While in the cold environment RIR had the lowest egg production performance, and the reciprocal crossbreds had a higher egg production performance than BS. In the cold environment BS and reciprocal crossbreds had higher triiodothyronine, tetraiodothyronine levels than RIR. At 35 and 39 wk of age, when the ambient temperature was extremely low (varied from -20°C to 0°C), serum glucose, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, estradiol of BS and crossbreds were higher than RIR. CONCLUSION: Bashang Long-tail chicken has a favorable cold tolerance ability. Crossbreeding with RIR and BS is an effective way to develop cold tolerant chickens with improved egg production performance.

[Expressions of SIgA and alpha 1-AR in benign prostatic hyperplasia combined with chronic prostatitis and their implications].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the expressions of SIgA and alpha l-AR in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) complicated by chronic prostatitis (CP) and their implications. METHODS: According to the preoperative findings of expressed prostatic secretion (EPS), transrectal prostate ultrasonography, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), international prostate symptom score (IPSS), clinical symptoms, chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) and postoperative histopathology, 62 cases of BPH pathologically confirmed after transurethral plasma kinetic resection of the prostate (PKRP) were divided into a BPH group (n = 32) and a BPH + CP group (n = 30). The expressions of SIgA and alpha 1-AR in the prostate tissue were determined by immunohistochemistry and PT-PCR. RESULTS: Of the 62 cases, 30 were found to be BPH + CP, and the other 32 to be BPH. The expressions of SIgA and alpha1-AR were significantly higher in the BPH + CP than in the BPH group (0.380 8 +/- 0.144 3 vs 0.295 4 +/- 0.008 4 and 0.440 5 +/- 0.104 1 vs 0.383 2 +/- 0.013 6, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The upregulated expressions of SIgA and alpha1-AR expression in BPH complicated by CP suggest a certain association between CP and BPH, and that inflammation may be a pathogenic factor of BPH and correlate with its pathological development.

Clinical efficacy and safety of robotic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for testicular cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) is an effective treatment for testicular tumors. In recent years, with the development of robotics, many urological procedures performed via standard laparoscopy have been replaced by robots. Our objective was to compare the safety and efficacy of robotic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (R-RPLND) versus Non-robotic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (NR-RPLND) in testicular cancer. Methods: Pubmed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched for literature on robotic surgery for testicular germ cell tumors up to April 2023. The statistical and sensitivity analyses were performed using Review Manager 5.3. Meta-analysis was performed to calculate mean difference (MD), odds ratio(OR), and 95% confidence interval (CI) effect indicators. Results: Eight studies with 3875 patients were finally included in this study, 453 with R-RPLND and 3422 with open retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (O-RPLND)/laparoscopic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (L-RPLND). The results showed that R-RPLND had lower rates of intraoperative blood loss (MD = -436.39; 95% CI -707.60 to -165.19; P = 0.002), transfusion (OR = 0.06; 95% CI 0.01 to 0.26; P = 0.0001), total postoperative complication rates (OR = 0.39; 95% CI 0.21 to 0.70; P = 0.002), and length of stay (MD=-3.74; 95% CI -4.69 to -2.78; P<0.00001). In addition, there were no statistical differences between the two groups regarding perioperative and oncological outcomes regarding total operative time, the incidence of postoperative complications grade≥III, abnormal ejaculation rate, lymph node yield, and postoperative recurrence rate. Conclusions: The R-RPLND and O-RPLND/L-RPLND provide safe and effective retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for testicular cancer. Patients with R-RPLND have less intraoperative bleeding, shorter hospitalization period, fewer postoperative complications, and faster recovery. It should be considered a viable alternative to O-RPLND/L-RPLND. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO, identifier CRD42023411696.

Serological analysis of allergic components of house dust mite provides more insight in epidemiological characteristics and clinical symptom development in North China.

Background: House dust mite (HDM) is the most common airborne source causing complex allergy symptoms. There are geographic differences in the allergen molecule sensitization profiles. Serological testing with allergen components may provide more clues for diagnosis and clinical management. Objective: This study aims to investigate the sensitization profile of eight HDM allergen components in a large number of patients enrolled in the clinic and to analyze the relation of gender, age, and clinical symptoms in North China. Methods: The 548 serum samples of HDM-allergic patients (ImmunoCAP® d1 or d2 IgE ≥0.35) were collected in Beijing City and divided in four different age groups and three allergic symptoms. The specific IgE of HDM allergenic components, Der p 1/Der f 1, Der p 2/Der f 2, Der p 7, Der p 10, Der p 21, and Der p 23, was measured using the micro-arrayed allergen test kit developed by Hangzhou Zheda Dixun Biological Gene Engineering Co., Ltd. The new system was validated by comparing to single-component Der p 1, Der p 2, and Der p 23 tests by ImmunoCAP in 39 sera. The epidemiological study of these IgE profiles and the relation to age and clinical phenotypes were analyzed. Results: A greater proportion of male patients was in the younger age groups, while more female patients were in the adult groups. Both the sIgE levels and the positive rates (approximately 60%) against Der p 1/Der f 1 and Der p 2/Der f 2 were higher than for the Der p 7, Der p 10, and Der p 21 components (below 25%). The Der f 1 and Der p 2 positive rates were higher in 2-12-year-old children. The Der p 2 and Der f 2 IgE levels and positive rates were higher in the allergic rhinitis group. The positive rates of Der p 10 increased significantly with age. Der p 21 is relevant in allergic dermatitis symptom, while Der p 23 contributes to asthma development. Conclusion: HDM groups 1 and 2 were the major sensitizing allergens, with group 2 being the most important component relevant to respiratory symptoms in North China. The Der p 10 sensitization tends to increase with age. Der p 21 and Der p 23 might be associated with the development of allergic skin disease and asthma, respectively. Multiple allergen sensitizations increased the risk of allergic asthma.

Sperm telomere length as a novel biomarker of male infertility and embryonic development: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Telomeres have an essential role in maintaining the integrity and stability of the human chromosomal genome and preserving essential DNA biological functions. Several articles have been published on the association of STL with male semen parameters and clinical pregnancy. The results, however, are either inconclusive or inconsistent. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to systematically assess the accuracy and clinical value of sperm telomere length (STL) as a new marker for diagnosing male infertility and predicting the quality of embryonic development. Methods: We performed a comprehensive systematic search for relevant publications in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, and Ovid, from database build to August 2022. All experimental studies exploring the association of STL with male semen quality, male infertility, or embryonic development were included. Results: Overall, Twelve prospective observational cohort studies (1700 patients) were eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed a positive linear correlation between STL and semen parameters. The optimal cut-off value for STL diagnosing male infertility was 1.0, with a sensitivity and specificity of 80%. Regarding STL and embryonic development, the clinical pregnancy rate was associated with longer STL, and there was no significant difference between the two groups regarding fertilization rate. Conclusion: Our study showed that STL has good diagnostic and predictive value for male fertility and clinical pregnancy and could be used as a new biomarker for diagnosing male infertility and predicting embryonic development. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42022303333.

Four clinical phenotypes of cow's milk protein allergy based on dairy product specific IgE antibody types in North China.

Background: Cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA) is a common allergy. Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated cow's milk allergy is associated with a high mortality risk and poor prognosis. The study aims to investigate whether there are different clinically CMPA phenotypes in China and to explore the association between CMPA phenotypes and specific IgE (sIgE) antibodies against different dairy products. Methods: Serum sIgE against different animal milk and cow's milk products and different milk components was measured by an allergen array. Four CMPA classifications were identified by the presence of serum sIgE: boiled milk-positive, yogurt-positive, buttermilk-positive, and raw milk-positive. Results: Among the 234 participants included in the study, 9 were boiled milk sIgE-positive, 50 were yogurt sIgE-positive, 17 were buttermilk sIgE-positive, and 158 were only raw milk sIgE-positive. The boiled milk-positive group had the highest levels of raw milk sIgE and casein sIgE antibodies, followed sequentially by the yogurt-positive, buttermilk-positive, and raw milk-positive groups. The boiled milk group observed the highest levels of sIgE against raw milk, casein, α-lactalbumin, and ß-lactoglobulin. These levels differed significantly from those in the other three groups. Allergic symptoms were distributed differently among the four study groups. The percentages of allergic patients with gastrointestinal tract symptoms in the above mentioned four groups ranged from high to low, and the percentages of patients with skin symptoms in the four groups ranged from low to high, respectively. Conclusion: Based on dairy product sIgE antibody levels associated with different milk components and various clinical allergic symptom tendencies, we could distinguish four CMPA phenotypes.

[Association of inflammatory indices with the severity of urinary sepsis: analysis of 70 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association of the clinical inflammatory indices with the severity of urinary sepsis. METHODS: We reviewed the clinical data of 70 patients with urinary sepsis treated in our hospital between January, 2013 and April, 2018. All the patients were diagnosed in line with the Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Urological Diseases in China (2014 edition), including 22 patients with sepsis, 12 with hypotension and severe sepsis, 17 with septic shock, and 19 with critical septic shock. White blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil percentage (N%), platelets (PLT), fibrinogen (FIB), Ddimer, interleukin-6 (IL-6), procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were examined in all the cases and compared among the 4 groups. The correlations of these inflammatory markers with the severity of sepsis were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The 4 groups of patients showed significant differences in N%, PLT, D-dimer, and PCT (P < 0.05) but not in CRP (P>0.05). Kruskal-Wallis Pairwise comparisons showed that the N% and PCT in patients with sepsis differed significantly from those in the other 3 groups; platelets in patients with sepsis differed significantly from those in patients with septic shock and critical septic shock; D-dimer differed significantly between patients with sepsis and those with septic shock. Among the 4 groups, the median levels of PLT decreased and PCT and N% increased with the worsening of sepsis. Logistic regression analysis indicated that PCT (r=0.186, P=0.000), N% (r=0.047, P=0.035) and PLT (r=-0.012, P=0.003) were significantly correlated with the severity of sepsis in these patients. CONCLUSIONS: PCT, PLT and N% are all significantly correlated with the severity of sepsis, and their combined detection can be informative for assessing the severity of sepsis to facilitate clinical decisions on treatment.

Thyroid transcriptome analysis reveals different adaptive responses to cold environmental conditions between two chicken breeds.

Selection for cold tolerance in chickens is important for improving production performance and animal welfare. The identification of chicken breeds with higher cold tolerance and production performance will help to target candidates for the selection. The thyroid gland plays important roles in thermal adaptation, and its function is influenced by breed differences and transcriptional plasticity, both of which remain largely unknown in the chicken thyroid transcriptome. In this study, we subjected Bashang Long-tail (BS) and Rhode Island Red (RIR) chickens to either cold or warm environments for 21 weeks and investigated egg production performance, body weight changes, serum thyroid hormone concentrations, and thyroid gland transcriptome profiles. RIR chickens had higher egg production than BS chickens under warm conditions, but BS chickens produced more eggs than RIRs under cold conditions. Furthermore, BS chickens showed stable body weight gain under cold conditions while RIRs did not. These results suggested that BS breed is a preferable candidate for cold-tolerance selection and that the cold adaptability of RIRs should be improved in the future. BS chickens had higher serum thyroid hormone concentrations than RIRs under both environments. RNA-Seq generated 344.3 million paired-end reads from 16 sequencing libraries, and about 90% of the processed reads were concordantly mapped to the chicken reference genome. Differential expression analysis identified 46-1,211 genes in the respective comparisons. With regard to breed differences in the thyroid transcriptome, BS chickens showed higher cell replication and development, and immune response-related activity, while RIR chickens showed higher carbohydrate and protein metabolism activity. The cold environment reduced breed differences in the thyroid transcriptome compared with the warm environment. Transcriptional plasticity analysis revealed different adaptive responses in BS and RIR chickens to cope with the cold, and showed higher responsiveness in BS compared with RIR chickens, suggesting greater adaptability of the thyroid in BS chickens. Moreover, 10,053 differential splicing events were revealed among the groups, with RNA splicing and processing, gene expression, transport, and metabolism being the main affected biological processes, identifying a valuable alternative splicing repertoire for the chicken thyroid. A short isoform of TPO (encoding thyroid peroxidase) containing multiple open reading frames was generated in both breeds by skipping exons 4 and 5 in the cold environment. These findings provide novel clues for future studies of the molecular mechanisms underlying cold adaptation and/or acclimation in chickens.

PEBP4 silencing inhibits hypoxia-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in prostate cancer cells.

Hypoxia induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) to facilitate the tumor biology. Phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein 4 (PEBP4) is a member of the PEBP family and has been reported to be upregulated in various cancer types. The definite function of PEBP4 in regulating the EMT of prostate cancer, however, is still unclear. Here, we examined the functional role of PEBP4 and the underlying molecular mechanisms in hypoxia-induced EMT in prostate cancer cells. Our results showed that PEBP4 mRNA and protein expression was markedly increased in the human prostate cancer tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of PEBP4 significantly inhibited hypoxia-induced migration/invasion and EMT program. Furthermore, knockdown of PEBP4 prevented hypoxia-induced the expression of p-Akt and p-mTOR in prostate cancer cells. Taken together, this study reported here provided evidence that knockdown of PEBP4 inhibited hypoxia-induced EMT in prostate cancer cells. Our study uncovered a novel role for PEBP4 in prostate cancer progression, which might support the potential for PEBP4 targeting in prostate cancer therapy.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces the apoptosis and inhibits osteoblast differentiation through JNK pathway in MC3T3-E1 cells.

Bone degradation is a serious complication of chronic inflammatory diseases such as septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, and infected orthopedic implant failure. Up to date, effective therapeutic treatments for bacteria-caused bone destruction are limited. In our previous study, we found that LPS promoted osteoclast differentiation and activity through activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) pathway such as c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) and extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK1/2). The current study was to evaluate the mechanism of LPS on the apoptosis and osteoblast differentiation in MC3T3-E1 cells. MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts were non-treated, treated with LPS. After treatment, the cell viability, the activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and caspase-3 were measured. The expressions of osteoblast-specific genes and Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase-3 were determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Protein levels of Bax, Bcl-2, caspase-3, and phosphorylation of MAPKs were measured using Western blotting assays. The MAPK signaling pathway was blocked by pretreatment with JNK inhibitor SP600125. LPS treatment induced a significant decrease in cell metabolism, viability, and ALP activity in MC3T3-E1 cells. LPS also significantly decreased mRNA expressions of osteoblast-related genes in MC3T3-E1 cells. On the other hand, LPS significantly upregulated mRNA expressions and protein levels of Bax and caspase-3 as well as activation of caspase-3, whereas decreased Bcl-2 expression in MC3T3-E1 cells. Furthermore, LPS significantly promoted MAPK pathway including the phosphorylation of JNK and the phosphorylation of ERK1/2; moreover, pretreatment with JNK inhibitor not only attenuated both of phosphorylation-JNK and ERK1/2 enhanced by LPS in MC3T3-E1 cells, but also reversed the downregulated expressions of osteoblast-specific genes including ALP and BSP induced by LPS. In conclusion, LPS could induce osteoblast apoptosis and inhibit osteoblast differentiation via activation of JNK pathway.