Research progress on the cardiorenal protection of non-steroid mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists in patients with chronic kidney disease / 生理学报

Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists not only are used as a diuretics to treat essential hypertension, but also protect the heart and kidney by inhibiting inflammation and fibrosis. Since the discovery of spironolactone, the first generation of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, two types of non-steroid mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (finerenone and esaxerenone) approved for clinical use have been developed, which have the advantages of high affinity, high selectivity and balanced distribution in heart and kidney, and can be used in clinic as a cardiorenal protective drug. In this paper, the development history of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists was reviewed, and the pathophysiological mechanism of inflammation and fibrosis caused by mineralocorticoid receptors and the similarities and differences of different generations of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists were analyzed. In particular, the phase III clinical research evidence of finerenone and esaxerenone was discussed. This paper also reviews the research progress of cardiorenal protection of non-steroid mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Characterization of stromal cell cultures from the prostatic peripheral zone of men at different ages / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To characterize age-related cellular phenotype alterations and growth rates of human prostatic stromal cell cultures from the normal prostatic peripheral zone of young donors (PZ-young) and old donors (PZ-old).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We isolated stromal cells from 10 donors of different ages, assessed the cellular phenotypes by immunocytostaining for prolyl-4-hydroxylase, alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) and desmin, and analysed the ultrastructure by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The proliferation and apoptosis of the cells were determined by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and flow cytometry, respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the stromal cells were positive for prolyl-4-hydroxylase regardless of the donors' age, while alpha-SMA and desmin positive cells increased with their age. The positive expressions of alpha-SMA and desmin were (2.56 +/- 1.81)% and (0.89 +/- 0.93)% in PZ-young, and (38.89 +/- 11.22)% and (14.89 +/- 5.97)% in PZ-old (P < 0.01). The alpha-SMA- and/or desmin-positive stromal cells were morphologically large, flat and polygonal. Ultrastructural analysis showed that the cell cultures from PZ-old were richer in rough endoplasmic reticulum and golgi complexes. The stromal cells of PZ-old had a lower growth rate than that of PZ-young (P < 0.01), but there was no significant difference in the apoptosis rate between the two groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Cellular phenotypes of human prostate stromal cell cultures change with the increase of age from predominantly typical fibroblasts to a mixture of fibroblasts and myofibroblasts, which might responsible for the high incidence of prostate cancer in elderly men.</p>

Tumor formation of prostate cancer cells influenced by stromal cells from the transitional or peripheral zones of the normal prostate / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

This study was designed to investigate the different involvements of prostatic stromal cells from the normal transitional zone (TZ) or peripheral zone (PZ) in the carcinogenesis of prostate cancer (PCa) epithelial cells (PC-3) in vitro and in vivo co-culture models. Ultra-structures and gene expression profiles of primary cultures of human prostatic stromal cells from the normal TZ or PZ were analyzed by electron microscopy and microarray analysis. In vitro and in vivo co-culture models composed of normal TZ or PZ stromal cells and human PCa PC-3 cells were established. We assessed tumor growth and weight in the in vivo nude mice model. There are morphological and ultra-structural differences in stromal cells from TZ and PZ of the normal prostate. In all, 514 differentially expressed genes were selected by microarray analysis; 483 genes were more highly expressed in stromal cells from TZ and 31 were more highly expressed in those from PZ. Co-culture with PZ stromal cells and transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) increased the tumor growth of PC-3 cells in vitro and in vivo, as well as Bcl-2 expression. On the other hand, stromal cells of TZ suppressed PC-3 cell tumor growth in the mouse model. We conclude that ultra-structures and gene expression differ between the stromal cells from TZ or PZ of the normal prostate, and stroma-epithelium interactions from TZ or PZ might be responsible for the distinct zonal localization of prostate tumor formation.

The diverse and contrasting effects of using human prostate cancer cell lines to study androgen receptor roles in prostate cancer / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

The androgen receptor (AR) plays an important role in the development and progression of prostate cancer (PCa). Androgen deprivation therapy is initially effective in blocking tumor growth, but it eventually leads to the hormone-refractory state. The detailed mechanisms of the conversion from androgen dependence to androgen independence remain unclear. Several PCa cell lines were established to study the role of AR in PCa, but the results were often inconsistent or contrasting in different cell lines, or in the same cell line grown under different conditions. The cellular and molecular alteration of epithelial cells and their microenvironments are complicated, and it is difficult to use a single cell line to address this important issue and also to study the pathophysiological effects of AR. In this paper, we summarize the different effects of AR on multiple cell lines and show the disadvantages of using a single human PCa cell line to study AR effects on PCa. We also discuss the advantages of widely used epithelium-stroma co-culture systems, xenograft mouse models, and genetically engineered PCa mouse models. The combination of in vitro cell line studies and in vivo mouse models might lead to more credible results and better strategies for the study of AR roles in PCa.

Chimeric molecules facilitate the degradation of androgen receptors and repress the growth of LNCaP cells / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

Post-translational degradation of protein plays an important role in cell life. We employed chimeric molecules (dihydrotestosterone-based proteolysis-targeting chimeric molecule [DHT-PROTAC]) to facilitate androgen receptor (AR) degradation via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway (UPP) and to investigate the role of AR in cell proliferation and viability in androgen-sensitive prostate cancer cells. Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry were applied to analyse AR levels in LNCaP cells after DHT-PROTAC treatment. Cell counting and the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) cell viability assay were used to evaluate cell proliferation and viability after AR elimination in both LNCaP and PC-3 cells. AR was tagged for elimination via the UPP by DHT-PROTAC, and this could be blocked by proteasome inhibitors. Degradation of AR depended on DHT-PROTAC concentration, and either DHT or an ALAPYIP-(arg)(8) peptide could compete with DHT-PROTAC. Inhibition of cell proliferation and decreased viability were observed in LNCaP cells, but not in PC-3 or 786-O cells after DHT-PROTAC treatment. These data indicate that AR elimination is facilitated via the UPP by DHT-PROTAC, and that the growth of LNCaP cells is repressed after AR degradation.

Androgen receptor functioned as a suppressor in the prostate cancer cell line PC3 in vitro and in vivo / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Prostate cancer is one of the most common urogenital tumors in the world with an increasing incidence in China. Androgen deprivation therapy is the major therapeutic option for advanced prostate cancer. However, the role of androgen receptor (AR) in hormone-refractory prostate cancer still remains unclear. This work aimed to investigate the role of AR in an androgen independent prostate cancer cell line by in vitro and in vivo studies.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The role of AR in the proliferation and invasion/metastasis ability of PC3-AR9 (a PC3 stable clone expressing human AR driven by natural human AR promoter) were examined with MTT assay, soft agar assay, chamber invasion assay, wound healing assay, and also with orthotopic xenograft mouse model.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Restoring androgen receptor in PC3 cells resulted in decreased proliferation and invasion/metastasis ability in MTT, soft agar, chamber invasion and wound healing assay. In the mouse orthotopic xenograft model, PC3-AR9 resulted in smaller primary tumors and metastasis tumors, with a lower proliferation rate and higher apoptosis rate.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The AR might function as a tumor suppressor in PC3 cells both in vitro and in vivo.</p>