Inhibition of prostatic cancer growth by ginsenoside Rh2.

Ginsenoside Rh2 (GRh2) has been reported to have therapeutic effects on some types of cancer, but its effect on prostatic cancer has not been extensively evaluated. Here, we show that GRh2 can substantially inhibit the growth of prostatic cancer in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, the inhibition of the tumor growth appeared to result from a combined inhibitory effect on tumor cell proliferation and tumor cell invasiveness. Further analyses suggest that GRh2 seemed to activate transforming growth factor ß (TGFß) receptor signaling in prostatic cancer cells, which subsequently inhibits cell proliferation and invasion through regulating cell-cycle controllers and (MMPs), respectively. Taken together, our data reveal an essential anti-prostatic cancer effect of GRh2 and demonstrate that this effect is through augment of TGFß receptor signaling in the prostatic cancer cells. GRh2 thus appears to be a promising therapy for prostatic cancer.

[Efficacy and safety of Saw Palmetto Extract Capsules in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of Saw Palmetto Extract Capsules in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). METHODS: We conducted a multi-centered open clinical study on 165 BPH patients treated with Saw Palmetto Extract Capsules at a dose of 160 mg qd for 12 weeks. At the baseline and after 6 and 12 weeks of medication, we compared the International Prostate Symptom Scores (IPSS), prostate volume, postvoid residual urine volume, urinary flow rate, quality of life scores (QOL), and adverse events between the two groups of patients. RESULTS: Compared with the baseline, both IPSS and QOL were improved after 6 weeks of medication, and at 12 weeks, significant improvement was found in IPSS, QOL, urinary flow rate, and postvoid residual urine. Mild stomachache occurred in 1 case, which necessitated no treatment. CONCLUSION: Saw Palmetto Extract Capsules were safe and effective for the treatment of BPH.

Reconstruction With a 3D-Printed Megaprosthesis With Ankle Arthrodesis After Distal Tibial Tumor Resection.

BACKGROUND: Reconstruction after en bloc resection of the distal tibia has remained an unsettled issue despite many attempts with bone grafts or prostheses in the past. Failures of the previous methods have been attributed to inadequate mechanical strength, poor articular stability, failed osseointegration, and poor soft tissue coverage. To overcome these shortcomings, we designed and applied a 3D-printed megaprosthesis with ankle arthrodesis. METHODS: A total of 13 patients underwent resection of a distal tibial tumor and reconstruction with a 3D-printed distal tibial megaprosthesis between January 2017 and November 2020. Mean age was 14.9±6.5 years. Diagnoses included 11 cases of osteosarcoma and 1 case each of low-grade phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor and rhabdomyosarcoma. Baseline characteristics, operative data, complication profiles, and oncologic, and functional outcomes were reviewed and analyzed. RESULTS: All 13 cases attained a wide or marginal resection. During a mean follow-up of 26.8±10.6 months, 1 patient experienced local recurrence and distant metastasis, whereas 3 other patients only developed distant metastasis. Periprosthetic infection subsequent to paronychia occurred in 1 patient 24 months after the operation. No other complications were observed. By the last follow-up, the mean MSTS-93 score was 28.0±1.5. CONCLUSION: In this relatively small cohort with short-term follow-up, reconstruction with the 3D-printed megaprosthesis with ankle arthrodesis was found to be a safe and efficacious method after resection of a distal tibial malignancy.

Application of Three-dimensional Visualization Fused with Ultrasound for Percutaneous Renal Puncture.

We present here the three-dimensional (3D) visualization fused with ultrasound and to evaluate its clinical application effect preliminarily. One hundred and eighteen patients with renal calculi in our hospital from September 2017 to December 2019 were prospectively randomized into two groups. The experimental group was treated with percutaneous renal puncture guided by the 3D visualization fused with ultrasound. The control group was treated with percutaneous renal puncture guided by B-ultrasonography (B-US). The puncture time in the experimental versus control group was 4.36 ± 1.28 min versus 10.72 ± 2.94 min (P = 0.000), operation time was 65.85 ± 10.63 min versus 81.34 ± 12.52 min (P = 0.000), and the loss of hemoglobin was 8.55 ± 3.76 g/L min versus 13.33 ± 5.81 g/L(P = 0.000), and the success rate of establishing the channel at one time was 98.41% versus 81.82% (P = 0.002), and the coincidence rate between the channel and the longitudinal axis of the target renal calyx was 88.89% versus 60.00% (P = 0.000). The 3D visualization fused with ultrasound could guide precise puncture to target calyces, reduce operation time, bleeding, and difficulty of puncture.

Isoquercitrin Attenuates Renal Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury Through Antioxidation, Anti-inflammation, and Antiapoptosis in Mice.

Renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (RIRI) occurs after several surgical procedures such as kidney transplantation and partial nephrectomy. Isoquercitrin (IQ) exhibited protective effects in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of IQ on the prevention of RIRI. The mouse model of RIRI was induced by 30-minute clamping of the left renal pedicle after excising of the right kidney, followed by 24-hour reperfusion. Thirty mice were randomly divided into the following 3 groups: sham operation, RIRI model group, and IQ pretreatment + RIRI. Serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were used for evaluating renal function. Kidney cell apoptosis was measured by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining. Moreover, the pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6), the oxidative stress associated factors (malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase), and the apoptotic factors (Bcl-2, Bax) were assessed. After RIRI, BUN, creatinine, TNF-α, IL-6, malondialdehyde, and Bax were significantly increased, and levels of superoxide dismutase and Bcl-2/Bax ratio and Bcl-2 expression were decreased markedly. As expect, IQ reversed these changes. These data indicate that IQ plays a protective role during RIRI, which may be partially mediated through the actions of antioxidation, anti-inflammation, and antiapoptosis.

Diagnostic performance of cytomegalovirus (CMV) immune monitoring with ELISPOT and QuantiFERON-CMV assay in kidney transplantation: A PRISMA-compliant article.

BACKGROUND: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is part of major infection complications following kidney transplantation. However, more rapid and low-complexity assays are needed for CMV infection. Our study is to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of 2 novel tests, CMV-ELISPOT and QuantiFERON-CMV tests, in CMV DNA viremia and CMV infection following renal transplant. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and the Web of Science. Case-control or cohort study designed to explore the CMV-ELISPOT and/or QuantiFERON-CMV tests in the recipients with CMV infection was considered to be eligible for this study. Sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and summary receiver-operating characteristic (SROC) curves were calculated. RESULTS: We selected a total of 12 articles for systematic review and 11 of them were included in meta-analysis. For CMV-pp65 assay, the pooled SEN, SPE, and DOR were 0.73 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.67-0.78), 0.61 (95% CI, 0.56-0.65), and 4.46 (95% CI, 3.11-6.39), respectively. For CMV-IE-1 assay, the pooled SEN, SPE, and DOR were 0.84 (95% CI, 0.78-0.88), 0.46 (95% CI, 0.42-0.51), and 5.07 (95% CI, 3.26-7.89), respectively, whereas the pooled SEN, SPE, and DOR of QuantiFERON-CMV test were 0.38 (95% CI, 0.28-0.49), 0.38 (95% CI, 0.32-0.44), and 1.02 (95% CI, 0.17-6.00). CONCLUSIONS: We reported that CMV-ELISPOT tests, including CMV-pp65 and CMV-IE-1, perform well in the diagnosis and prediction of CMV infection in renal transplant recipients, whereas QuantiFERON-CMV test needs further exploration.

Silencing long non-coding RNA NEAT1 enhances the suppression of cell growth, invasion, and apoptosis of bladder cancer cells under cisplatin chemotherapy.

It has been proven that NEAT1 as a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is highly expressed in bladder cancer (BC). Nevertheless, the oncogenic roles of NEAT1 in BC remain largely unknown. In the present study, we observed that the RNA level of NEAT1.1, one RNA variant of NEAT1, was reduced in cisplatin-sensitive T24 cells compared to cisplatin-resistant T24 (T24R) cells after both treated with cisplatin modulated through Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway using RNA-seq. Furthermore, NEAT1.1 was knocked down within T24R cells and caused a phenotype of the compromised cell growth, invasion and enhanced apoptosis upon cisplatin treatment compared to untreated T24R cells. Finally, c-MYC, OCT4 and p53 were determined to contribute to the transcriptional regulation of NEAT1.1 under cisplatin using ChIP assay. Taken together, our results suggest that NEAT1.1 blocking can promote the effect of cisplatin for BC treatment.

YAP knockdown inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis of human prostate cancer DU145 cells.

The role of yes-associated protein (YAP) in human prostate cancer DU145 cells and its underlying molecular mechanisms were explored in the present study. Initially, the expression levels of YAP were detected in DU145 cells, which revealed that YAP was highly expressed in these cells. To investigate the role of YAP in DU145 cells, a stable YAP­silenced DU145 cell line was generated using YAP­small interfering RNA. Reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting were performed for mRNA and protein detection, respectively. An MTT assay and flow cytometry were performed to investigate the proliferation and apoptosis of DU145 cells. The results demonstrated that YAP knockdown significantly decreased the proliferative ability of DU145 cells, whereas the percentage of apoptotic cells was markedly increased, compared with the control. In addition, the mRNA and protein expression levels of connective tissue growth factor and cysteine­rich angiogenic factor 61 were notably decreased, the ratio of B­cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl­2)/Bcl­2­associated X protein (Bax) was significantly reduced, and the expression levels of caspase 3 were significantly decreased within YAP­silenced DU145 cells. In conclusion, YAP knockdown reduced the proliferation and induced apoptosis of DU145 cells. Therefore, the gene transcription and protein expression of YAP may be involved in the development of prostate cancer and may be considered a potential target for the treatment of such cancers.

Correlation of diffusion tensor imaging parameters and Gleason scores of prostate cancer.

The aim of the present study was to explore the association between the parameters of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), including fractional anisotropy (FA) values, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and the diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) map, with the Gleason score of prostate cancer (PCa). A retrospective study of 50 cases of PCa confirmed by biopsy or surgical pathology was performed. Conventional magnetic resonance imaging and DTI scans were conducted in these cases. The 50 cases of PCa were divided into three groups, including low, intermediate and high grade, according to the Gleason score. Post-DTI processing was performed using Neuro 3D software, in order to measure the FA and ADC values, and map the prostate fibers. Differences in FA and ADC values among the various PCa groups were examined using analysis of variance, while the correlation of FA and ADC values with the Gleason score was studied using Pearson correlation analysis. The obtained DTT map clearly demonstrated the spatial structure of the prostate fibers. The fibers of the cancer area were dense without interruption in the low-grade group, sparse and disordered in the intermediate-grade group, and were disordered, sparse or even absent in the high-grade group. The FA values were 0.284±0.313, 0.293±0.347 and 0.369±0.347, respectively, with statistically significant differences observed among the three groups (F=234.533; P<0.05) and between each group (P<0.05). In addition, the FA value of PCa was positively correlated with the Gleason score (r=0.884; P<0.05). The ADC values of the low-, intermediate- and high-grade groups were 1.070±0.072×10-3, 0.961±0.081×10-3 and 0.821±0.048×10-3, respectively, which demonstrated statistically significant differences among the three groups (F=49.987; P<0.05) and between each group (P<0.05). Furthermore, the ADC values of PCa were negatively correlated with Gleason score (r=-0.810; P<0.05). In conclusion, there was an association between DTI parameters and Gleason score, which may be used to evaluate the grading and prognosis of PCa.

The role of MDM4 SNP34091 A>C polymorphism in cancer: a meta-analysis on 19,328 patients and 51,058 controls.

BACKGROUND: Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Several observational studies have suggested a significant association of the MDM4 SNP34091 A>C polymorphism with cancers. However, the results of the published studies are inconsistent. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PubMed, Embase/Ovid and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched for relevant studies with a time limit of April 20, 2016. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the strength of the association between MDM4 polymorphism and cancer risk. Publication bias was estimated using Begg's funnel plots and Egger's regression test. RESULTS: A total of 19,328 patients and 51,058 controls were included in the analysis. Overall, a significantly decreased risk of cancer was associated with MDM4 SNP34091 polymorphism for the allele model (C vs. A, OR = 0.715, 95% CI: 0.622-0.821, p = 0.000), dominant model (CC + AC vs. AA, OR = 0.684, 95% CI: 0.563-0.831, p = 0.000), recessive model (CC vs. AC + AA, OR = 1.139, 95% CI = 1.055-1.230, p = 0.001) and heterozygote model (AC vs. AA, OR = 0.687, 95% CI = 0.568-0.832). In the subgroup analysis by cancer type, no significant association was found in the breast cancer subgroup. In the subgroup analysis by geographical region, 2 genetic models, the allele and heterozygote models, showed a significant association in Chinese populations. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our meta-analysis showed that the MDM4 SNP34091 A>C polymorphism may function as a protective factor against cancer risk.

Age-related changes of normal prostate: evaluation by MR diffusion tensor imaging.

In this study, fifty healthy normal volunteers were divided into 3 groups according to age: group A (15-30 years, n=14), group B (31-50 years, n=24), group C (>51 years, n=12). The FA and ADC values in PZ and CZ were measured, and difference between the PZ and CZ were assessed. The results indicated that no significant difference were found in the FA and ADC values between the left and right of PZ (P>0.05), but significant differences were observed in the FA and ADC values between PZ and CZ within each group (P<0.05). The FA values of PZ in three groups were 0.227±0.052, 0.202±0.055, and 0.145±0.034, respectively. The ADC values were found to be 1.439±0.160×10(-3), 1.652±0.256×10(-3), and 2.001±0.266×10(-3) mm(2)/s, accordingly. The FA and ADC values in PZ were significantly (P<0.05) different between groups. The FA values of CZ in different groups were found to be 0.291±0.083, 0.287±0.045, and 0.257±0.059, respectively; while the corresponding ADC values were 1.374±0.171×10(-3), 1.382±0.178×10(-3), and 1.415±0.136×10(-3) mm(2)/s, respectively. The FA and ADC values in CZ were not statistically (P>0.05) different between groups. Pearson correlation analysis results showedthat the FA values in PZ havenegative correlation with age (r=-0.498, P<0.05), while the ADC values exhibited a positive correlation with age (r=0.682, P<0.05). No correlations between the changes of FA and ADC values and age were noted in CZ. In conclusion, the FA and ADC values in the normal prostatic PZ were age-dependent. FA decreases and ADC increases with age. In contrast, the FA and ADC values in the normal prostatic CZ were not significantly age-related.