Comparison of surgical excision followed by adjuvant radiotherapy and laser combined with steroids for the treatment of keloids: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This meta-analysis aims to evaluate and compare the effect of surgical excision followed by adjuvant radiotherapy and laser combined with steroids on keloids. Relevant studies reporting the recurrence rate or incidence of adverse events (AEs) were retrieved from the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library databases through August 2023. The quality of noncomparative single-arm clinical trials was evaluated using the methodological index for nonrandomised studies (MINORS) Methodological items. This meta-analysis was conducted utilizing Stata 12.0 statistical software. 26 studies involving 989 patients were included in the analysis. The recurrence rate in the laser combined with steroids therapy group (12.2%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.9%-18.5%) was lower than that of the surgical excision combined with radiotherapy group (13.5%, 95% CI: 6.6%-22.2%). For the incidence of AEs, relatively low incidence of atrophy (0.0%, 95% CI: 0.0%-1.2%), telangiectasia (3.2%, 95% CI: 0.4%-7.6%), erythema (2.3%, 95% CI: 0.0%-10.6%), infection (0.2%, 95% CI: 0.0%-1.6%) and high hyperpigmentation rate (8.3%, 95% CI: 4.2%-13.4%) were obtained in the surgical excision combined with radiotherapy group. Compared with surgical resection followed by radiotherapy, the combination of laser and steroids for keloids showed a lower hyperpigmentation rate (6.5%), as well as a higher incidence of atrophy (22.7%), telangiectasia (6.4%), erythema (3.3%) and infection (3.3%). Only a hypopigmentation rate of 2.9% was obtained in patients treated with surgical excision plus radiotherapy. Current evidence revealed that surgical excision followed by adjuvant radiotherapy and laser combined with steroids therapy were effective and safe treatments for keloids, with relatively low recurrence rate and complication rate. Comparative studies are needed to further compare the effects of these two combination therapies on keloids.

Axenic in vitro cultivation and genome diploidization of the moss Vesicularia montagnei for horticulture utilization.

Mosses are widely used in the establishment of greenery. However, little research has been conducted to choose a suitable species or improve their performance for this application. In our study, we examined Vesicularia montagnei (V. montagnei), a robust moss that is widely distributed in temperate, subtropical, and tropical Asia with varying environmental conditions. Axenic cultivation system of V. montagnei was developed on modified BCD medium, which enabled its propagation and multiplication in vitro. In this axenic cultivation environment, several diploid V. montagnei lines with enhancement of rhizoid system were generated through artificial induction of diploidization. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that several genes responsible for jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis and signaling showed significant higher expression levels in the diploid lines compared to the wild type. These results are consistent with the increasement of JA content in the diploid lines. Our establishment of the axenic cultivation method may provide useful information for further study of other Vesicularia species. The diploid V. montagnei lines with improved rhizoid system may hold promising potential for greenery applications. Additionally, our study sheds light on the biosynthesis and functions of JA in the early landed plants.

Long Non-Coding RNAs of Plants in Response to Abiotic Stresses and Their Regulating Roles in Promoting Environmental Adaption.

Abiotic stresses triggered by climate change and human activity cause substantial agricultural and environmental problems which hamper plant growth. Plants have evolved sophisticated mechanisms in response to abiotic stresses, such as stress perception, epigenetic modification, and regulation of transcription and translation. Over the past decade, a large body of literature has revealed the various regulatory roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the plant response to abiotic stresses and their irreplaceable functions in environmental adaptation. LncRNAs are recognized as a class of ncRNAs that are longer than 200 nucleotides, influencing a variety of biological processes. In this review, we mainly focused on the recent progress of plant lncRNAs, outlining their features, evolution, and functions of plant lncRNAs in response to drought, low or high temperature, salt, and heavy metal stress. The approaches to characterize the function of lncRNAs and the mechanisms of how they regulate plant responses to abiotic stresses were further reviewed. Moreover, we discuss the accumulating discoveries regarding the biological functions of lncRNAs on plant stress memory as well. The present review provides updated information and directions for us to characterize the potential functions of lncRNAs in abiotic stresses in the future.

Regulation of Heat Stress in Physcomitrium (Physcomitrella) patens Provides Novel Insight into the Functions of Plant RNase H1s.

RNase H1s are associated with growth and development in both plants and animals, while the roles of RNase H1s in bryophytes have been rarely reported. Our previous data found that PpRNH1A, a member of the RNase H1 family, could regulate the development of Physcomitrium (Physcomitrella) patens by regulating the auxin. In this study, we further investigated the biological functions of PpRNH1A and found PpRNH1A may participate in response to heat stress by affecting the numbers and the mobilization of lipid droplets and regulating the expression of heat-related genes. The expression level of PpRNH1A was induced by heat stress (HS), and we found that the PpRNH1A overexpression plants (A-OE) were more sensitive to HS. At the same time, A-OE plants have a higher number of lipid droplets but with less mobility in cells. Consistent with the HS sensitivity phenotype in A-OE plants, transcriptomic analysis results indicated that PpRNH1A is involved in the regulation of expression of heat-related genes such as DNAJ and DNAJC. Taken together, these results provide novel insight into the functions of RNase H1s.

DNA Methylation in Plant Responses and Adaption to Abiotic Stresses.

Due to their sessile state, plants are inevitably affected by and respond to the external environment. So far, plants have developed multiple adaptation and regulation strategies to abiotic stresses. One such system is epigenetic regulation, among which DNA methylation is one of the earliest and most studied regulatory mechanisms, which can regulate genome functioning and induce plant resistance and adaption to abiotic stresses. In this review, we outline the most recent findings on plant DNA methylation responses to drought, high temperature, cold, salt, and heavy metal stresses. In addition, we discuss stress memory regulated by DNA methylation, both in a transient way and the long-term memory that could pass to next generations. To sum up, the present review furnishes an updated account of DNA methylation in plant responses and adaptations to abiotic stresses.

Genetic Analysis of a Collection of Rice Germplasm (Oryza sativa L.) through High-Density SNP Array Provides Useful Information for Further Breeding Practices.

Traditional breeding strategies mainly focus on the evaluation of trait performance, but pay less attention to the changing genetic background. A comprehensive understanding of the genetic diversity of germplasms is crucial for the deliberate improvement of specific traits. A collection of 154 highland rice varieties were collected as the initial genetic resource in our breeding program to improve the pathogen resistance and eating and cooking qualities. These varieties were analyzed using a whole-genome SNP array and were clustered into three groups. Further analysis revealed that the favorable alleles of pathogen resistance genes are mostly absent in our collected varieties. However, it showed that most varieties possess favorable alleles of Waxy (Wx) and ALKALI DEGENERATION (ALK), which are able to enhance the eating and cooking qualities. Moreover, only about one fifth of all varieties harbors favorable the allele of fragrance gene Betainealdehyde dehydrogenase (BADH2). Together, these results give an overall view of the genetic constitution of the target traits, which provide useful information for future genetic improvement in breeding practices.

Current trends and insights on EMS mutagenesis application to studies on plant abiotic stress tolerance and development.

Ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS)-induced mutagenesis is a powerful tool to generate genetic resource for identifying untapped genes and characterizing the function of genes to understand the molecular basis of important agronomic traits. This review focuses on application of contemporary EMS mutagenesis in the field of plant development and abiotic stress tolerance research, with particular focuses on reviewing the mutation types, mutagenesis site, mutagen concentration, mutagenesis duration, the identification and characterization of mutations responsible for altered stress tolerance responses. The application of EMS mutation breeding combined with genetic engineering in the future plant breeding and fundamental research was also discussed. The collective information in this review will provide good insight on how EMS mutagenesis is efficiently applied to improve abiotic stress tolerance of crops with the utilization of Next-generation sequencing (NGS) for mutation identification.

A clinical study on the tip localization of peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) guided by intracavitary electrocardiography in newborns: a randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to investigate the P-wave changes in intracavitary electrocardiography (IC-ECG) during catheterization with a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) in order to provide guidance for the accurate localization of the tip of the PICC. METHODS: A total of 106 newborns who needed a PICC were randomly divided into two groups-a study group and a control group-using a random number table, with 53 cases in each group. In the study group, the ECG monitor was connected after the successful puncture and insertion of the PICC into the right sternoclavicular joint, and the position of the catheter tip was determined according to the P-wave changes on the IC-ECG. Localization X-rays were taken at the same time. In the control group, after the successful routine puncture and insertion of the PICC into the location to a predetermined length, localization X-rays were taken. The accuracy, procedure duration, and cost of the two localization methods were evaluated. RESULTS: The accuracy of the localization in the study group was 92.5%, but the difference was not significant when compared with the control group (P>0.05). The duration of the procedure in the study group was 5.12±1.57 minutes, and the cost was 7.12±0.56 yuan, both of which were significantly different when compared with the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: P-wave changes during IC-ECG have high accuracy in determining the location of the tip of the PICC. It is also a simple method and has certain clinical application value. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (number: ChiCTR2100047660).

Integration of Metabolome and Transcriptome Studies Reveals Flavonoids, Abscisic Acid, and Nitric Oxide Comodulating the Freezing Tolerance in Liriope spicata.

Liriope spicata is an evergreen perennial ornamental groundcover with a strong freezing tolerance. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the freezing tolerance in L. spicata remains unclear. In this study, a comprehensive investigation of L. spicata freezing tolerance was conducted at the levels of physiology and biochemistry, metabolite, and transcript during the stress treatment. There were 581 unique differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) and 10,444 unique differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between freezing treatment and normal cultured plant in leaves. Integrated analysis of metabolomics and transcriptomics showed that flavonoid biosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, and signal transduction pathways were prominently enriched in response to the freezing stress in L. spicata. Now, we identified genes and metabolites involved in the flavonoid pathway, abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis, and the oxidative synthesis pathway of nitric oxide (NO), which may form a regulatory network and play a synergistic effect in osmotic adjustment, reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis, and stomatal closure under freezing stress. These results offer a comprehensive network of flavonoids, ABA, and NO comodulating the freezing tolerance in L. spicata.

A comparison and review of three sets of classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus for distinguishing systemic lupus erythematosus from pure mucocutaneous manifestations in the lupus disease spectrum.

Although the original purpose of the systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) classification criteria was to distinguish SLE from other mimic diseases, and to facilitate sample selection in scientific research, they have become widely used as diagnostic criteria in clinical situations. It is not known yet if regarding classification criteria as diagnostic criteria, what problems might be encountered? This is the first study comparing the three sets of classification criteria for SLE, the 1997 American College of Rheumatology (ACR'97), 2012 Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC'12) and 2019 European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology (EULAR/ACR'19), for their ability to distinguish patients with SLE from patients with pure mucocutaneous manifestations (isolated cutaneous lupus erythematosus without internal disease, i-CLE) in the lupus disease spectrum. 1,865 patients with SLE and 232 patients with i-CLE were recruited from a multicenter study. We found that, due to low specificity, none of the three criteria are adept at distinguishing patients with SLE from patients with i-CLE. SLICC'12 performed best among the original three criteria, but if a positive ANA was removed as an entry criterion, EULAR/ACR'19 would performed better. A review of previous studies that compared the three sets of criteria was presented in this work.

Engineering Lignin Nanomicroparticles for the Antiphotolysis and Controlled Release of the Plant Growth Regulator Abscisic Acid.

Lignin is the most abundant aromatic biopolymer in nature and is a major byproduct from the paper industry. The unlocking of lignin's potential for high-value applications has gained increasing attention in recent years. In this study, alkali lignin (AL), with a rigid conjugated structure and amphiphilic property, was used as a sustainable and eco-friendly encapsulation material for the protection and controlled release of photosensitive abscisic acid (ABA), an important and widely used plant growth regulator. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) was used to induce the formation of AL-CTAB nanomicroparticles by self-assembly. The size and morphology of AL-CTAB particles were modified by changing the AL concentration and the dispersion agent. AL (0.3 M) dissolved in tetrahydrofuran could form a uniform size (300 nm) of particles with a regular spherical structure. Subsequently, ABA was loaded on the prepared nanomicroparticles to synthesize the capsule formulation of ABA@AL-CTAB. The controlled-release behavior and the antiphotolysis performance as well as the thermal stability of ABA@AL-CTAB were proved to be superior. Lasting inhibition of Arabidopsis and rice seed germination by ABA@AL-CTAB under light irradiations implied protection of ABA from photolysis. In addition, ABA@AL-CTAB could effectively regulate plant stomata, thereby increasing plant drought resistance. Overall, lignin is suitable for the preparation of agrochemical formulations with excellent controlled release and antiphotolysis performances.

Red and blue light differentially impact retrograde signalling and photoprotection in rice.

Chloroplast-to-nucleus retrograde signalling (RS) is known to impact plant growth and development. In Arabidopsis, we and others have shown that RS affects seedling establishment by inhibiting deetiolation. In the presence of lincomycin, a chloroplast protein synthesis inhibitor that triggers RS, Arabidopsis light-grown seedlings display partial skotomorphogenesis with undeveloped plastids and closed cotyledons. By contrast, RS in monocotyledonous has been much less studied. Here, we show that emerging rice seedlings exposed to lincomycin do not accumulate chlorophyll but otherwise remain remarkably unaffected. However, by using high red (R) and blue (B) monochromatic lights in combination with lincomycin, we have uncovered a RS inhibition of length and a reduction in the B light-induced declination of the second leaf. Furthermore, we present data showing that seedlings grown in high B and R light display different non-photochemical quenching capacity. Our findings support the view that excess B and R light impact seedling photomorphogenesis differently to photoprotect and optimize the response to high-light stress. This article is part of the theme issue 'Retrograde signalling from endosymbiotic organelles'.

Bioinformatic analysis of microRNA-mRNA expression profiles of bladder tissue induced by bladder outlet obstruction in a rat model.

Various microRNAs (miRNAs) have previously been demonstrated to exhibit an association with the process of bladder remodeling, induced by bladder outlet obstruction (BOO). However, little is known about miRNA and gene expression profiles and the molecular mechanism underlying bladder pathophysiological alterations. The present study used bioinformatic analysis technology to examine the altered miRNA and mRNA expression profiles of bladder tissue in a rat model of BOO and validate the involved signaling pathways. The gene expression profile data was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were screened. Potential target genes of DEMs were predicted. The target genes and DEGs were used for further gene ontology (GO) analysis followed by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery. The present study additionally constructed a DEM­DEG interaction network. A total of 9 DEMs (3 upregulated and 6 downregulated) were identified; 664 DEGs were screened. KEGG analysis revealed that the DEGs were involved in the regulation of the actin cytoske-leton, extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, cell adhesion and the cell cycle. Additionally, KEGG classification indicated that these genes were important in angiogenesis, and in the p53 and transforming growth factor­ß signaling pathways. Notably, rno­miRNA (miR)­26b and rno­miR­101b were the two larger nodes of the 7 obstruction­associated DEMs and interacted with 32 and 27 DEGs, respectively. On removal of obstruction, few DEMs were present; however, 370 genes exhibited the opposite expression trend. The majority of pathways enriched for the DEGs were identified and were associated with ECM­receptor interaction and focal adhesion. In the DEM­DEG regulatory network, miR­495, miR­494 and their target genes were significantly differentially expressed. The present study demonstrated that miRNAs and genes may be potential biomarkers of bladder remodeling induced by BOO, and additionally provided novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying this disorder.

Two Different Transcripts of a LAMMER Kinase Gene Play Opposite Roles in Disease Resistance.

Alternative splicing of genes can increase protein diversity and affect mRNA stability. Genome-wide transcriptome sequencing has demonstrated that alternative splicing occurs in a large number of intron-containing genes of different species. However, despite the phenomenon having been known for decades, it is largely unknown how the alternatively spliced transcripts function differently. Here, we report that two alternatively spliced transcripts of the rice (Oryza sativa) LAMMER kinase gene OsDR11, long OsDR11L and short OsDR11S, play opposite roles in rice resistance against Xanthomonas oryzae pv oryzae (Xoo), which causes the most damaging bacterial disease in rice worldwide. Overexpressing OsDR11S or suppressing OsDR11L in rice enhanced resistance to Xoo, which was accompanied by an accumulation of jasmonic acid (JA) and induced expression of JA signaling genes. In contrast, suppressing OsDR11S was associated with increased susceptibility to Xoo, along with decreased levels of JA and expression of JA signaling genes. The OsDR11S and OsDR11L proteins colocalized in the nucleus. OsDR11L showed autophosphorylation activity in vitro, while OsDR11S did not. In the presence of OsDR11S, autophosphorylation of OsDR11L was inhibited, and overexpression of OsDR11S suppressed OsDR11L expression. OsDR11 appeared to contribute to a minor quantitative trait locus against Xoo These results suggest that OsDR11L is a negative regulator in rice disease resistance, which may be associated with suppression of JA signaling. The results also suggest that OsDR11S may inhibit the function of OsDR11L at both the transcription and protein kinase activity levels, leading to resistance against Xoo.

Analysis of risk factors leading to postoperative urethral stricture and bladder neck contracture following transurethral resection of prostate.

PURPOSE: To determine risk factors of postoperative urethral stricture (US) and vesical neck contracture (BNC) after transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) from perioperative parameters. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 373 patients underwent TURP in a Chinese center for lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic obstruction (LUTS/BPO), with their perioperative and follow-up clinical data being collected. Univariate analyses were used to determine variables which had correlation with the incidence of US and BNC before logistic regression being applied to find out independent risk factors. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 29.3 months with the incidence of US and BNC being 7.8% and 5.4% respectively. Resection speed, reduction in hemoglobin (ΔHb) and hematocrit (ΔHCT) levels, incidence of urethral mucosa rupture, re-catheterization and continuous infection had significant correlation with US, while PSA level, storage score, total prostate volume (TPV), transitional zone volume (TZV), transitional zone index (TZI), resection time and resected gland weight had significant correlation with BNC. Lower resection speed (OR=0.48), urethral mucosa rupture (OR=2.44) and continuous infection (OR=1.49) as well as higher storage score (OR=2.51) and lower TPV (OR=0.15) were found to be the independent risk factors of US and BNC respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Lower resection speed, intraoperative urethral mucosa rupture and postoperative continuous infection were associated with a higher risk of US while severer storage phase symptom and smaller prostate size were associated with a higher risk of BNC after TURP.

Analysis of risk factors leading to postoperative urethral stricture and bladder neck contracture following transurethral resection of prostate

ABSTRACT Purpose: To determine risk factors of postoperative urethral stricture (US) and vesical neck contracture (BNC) after transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) from perioperative parameters. Materials and Methods: 373 patients underwent TURP in a Chinese center for lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic obstruction (LUTS/BPO), with their perioperative and follow-up clinical data being collected. Univariate analyses were used to determine variables which had correlation with the incidence of US and BNC before logistic regression being applied to find out independent risk factors. Results: The median follow-up was 29.3 months with the incidence of US and BNC being 7.8% and 5.4% respectively. Resection speed, reduction in hemoglobin (ΔHb) and hematocrit (ΔHCT) levels, incidence of urethral mucosa rupture, re-catheterization and continuous infection had significant correlation with US, while PSA level, storage score, total prostate volume (TPV), transitional zone volume (TZV), transitional zone index (TZI), resection time and resected gland weight had significant correlation with BNC. Lower resection speed (OR=0.48), urethral mucosa rupture (OR=2.44) and continuous infection (OR=1.49) as well as higher storage score (OR=2.51) and lower TPV (OR=0.15) were found to be the independent risk factors of US and BNC respectively. Conclusions: Lower resection speed, intraoperative urethral mucosa rupture and postoperative continuous infection were associated with a higher risk of US while severer storage phase symptom and smaller prostate size were associated with a higher risk of BNC after TURP.

Tumor-suppressive microRNA-497 targets IKKß to regulate NF-κB signaling pathway in human prostate cancer cells.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most prevalent malignant tumors, PCa-related death is mainly due to the high probability of metastasis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in cancer initiation, progression and metastasis by regulating their target genes. METHODS: real-time PCR was used to detected the expression of microRNA-497. The molecular biological function was investigated by using cell proliferation assays, cell cycle assay, and migration and invasion assay. We used several Algorithms and confirmed that IKKß is directly regulated by miR-497. RESULTS: Here, we found miR-497 is downregulated in human prostate cancer (PCa) and inhibites the proliferation activity, migration and invasion of PC3-AR cells. Subsequently, IKKß is confi rmed as a target of miR-497. Furthermore, knockdown of IKKß expression resulted in decreased proliferation activity, migration and invasion. Finally, similar results was found after treatment with a novel IKK-ß inhibitor (IMD-0354) in PC3-AR cells. CDK8, MMP-9, and PSA were involved in all these process. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our results show evidence that miR-497 may function as a tumor suppressor genes by regulating IKK-ß in PCa, and may provide a strategy for blocking PCa metastasis.

Establishment and value assessment of efficacy prediction model about transurethral prostatectomy.

OBJECTIVES: To establish and to evaluate discriminant models to predict the outcomes of transurethral prostatectomy. METHODS: Clinical data of patients treated with transurethral prostatectomy between January and December 2013 were collected, including medical history, symptoms, biochemical tests, ultrasonography and urodynamics. Surgical efficacy was evaluated at 6-month follow up. Predictive models were constructed by logistic regression. Receiver operating characteristic curve and diagnostic tests were used to test the accuracy of models before the predictive value between models was compared. RESULTS: A total of 182 patients were included, with 73.6% having an effective outcome. History of recurrent urinary tract infection (OR 1.33), score of storage phase (OR 2.58), maximum flow rate (OR 2.11) and detrusor overactivity (OR 3.13) were found to be risk factors. International Prostate Symptom Score (OR 0.13), transitional zone index (OR 0.58), resistive index of prostatic artery (OR 0.46), bladder wall thickness (OR 0.78), ultrasonic estimation of bladder weight (OR 0.28), bladder outlet obstruction index (OR 0.20) and bladder contractility index (OR 0.83) were found to be protective factors. The areas under the curve of models using factors from ultrasonography and urodynamics were 0.792 and 0.829 respectively, with no significant difference being found between them (P = 0.348). CONCLUSIONS: Surgical efficacy of transurethral prostatectomy is positively correlated to severe voiding phase symptoms, outlet obstruction and better detrusor contractility, and negative correlated with urinary infection, severe storage phase symptoms and excessive detrusor contractibility. Ultrasonography might replace urodynamics in selecting patients for whom transurethral prostatectomy is more likely to be beneficial.

Pirfenidone attenuates bladder fibrosis and mitigates deterioration of bladder function in a rat model of partial bladder outlet obstruction.

To investigate the effects of pirfenidone (PFD) on the attenuation of bladder remodeling, and the associated functional changes caused by partial bladder outlet obstruction (pBOO), the present study performed surgery on adult male Sprague­Dawley rats produce a model of pBOO. The rats in the pBOO group were administered a placebo and, in the CMC group, PFD mixed with the placebo was administered orally at 500 mg/kg body weight each day for 5 weeks, from 1 week after surgery. The rat bladders were harvested for biochemical analysis following cystometry at the end of the 6 week period. The histopathology was determined using Masson's trichrome staining. The mRNA and protein levels of pro­fibrotic growth factors and extracellular matrix subtypes were assessed. pBOO debilitated bladder function and caused the parameters from cystometry to increase significantly compared with those in the control group (P<0.05), which were mitigated significantly following PFD treatment (P<0.05). In terms of the histology, the rats in the pBOO group exhibited significant increases in bladder weight, muscle hypertrophy and deposition of collagens, which were suppressed by PFD treatment (P<0.05). Based on the biochemical analysis, significant increases in the mRNA levels of collagen subtypes and growth factors, and protein levels of profibrotic growth factors and α­smooth muscle actin in the bladders of rats in the pBOO group were reduced following PFD treatment. PFD prevented bladder remodeling and attenuated bladder fibrosis and, therefore, mitigated the deterioration of bladder function during the initial stage of pBOO.