MIKC type MADS-box transcription factor LcSVP2 is involved in dormancy regulation of the terminal buds in evergreen perennial litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.).

SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP), a member of the MADS-box transcription factor family, has been reported to regulate bud dormancy in deciduous perennial plants. Previously, three LcSVPs (LcSVP1, LcSVP2 and LcSVP3) were identified from litchi genome, and LcSVP2 was highly expressed in the terminal buds of litchi during growth cessation or dormancy stages and down-regulated during growth stages. In this study, the role of LcSVP2 in governing litchi bud dormancy was examined. LcSVP2 was highly expressed in the shoots, especially in the terminal buds at growth cessation stage, whereas low expression was showed in roots, female flowers and seeds. LcSVP2 was found to be located in the nucleus and have transcription inhibitory activity. Overexpression of LcSVP2 in Arabidopsis thaliana resulted in a later flowering phenotype compared to the wild-type control. Silencing LcSVP2 in growing litchi terminal buds delayed re-entry of dormancy, resulting in significantly lower dormancy rate. The treatment also significantly up-regulated litchi FLOWERING LOCUS T2 (LcFT2). Further study indicates that LcSVP2 interacts with an AP2-type transcription factor, SMALL ORGAN SIZE1 (LcSMOS1). Silencing LcSMOS1 promoted budbreak and delayed bud dormancy. Abscisic acid (200 mg/L), which enforced bud dormancy, induced a short-term increase in the expression of LcSVP2 and LcSMOS1. Our study reveals that LcSVP2 may play a crucial role, likely together with LcSMOS1, in dormancy onset of the terminal bud and may also serve as a flowering repressor in evergreen perennial litchi.

Management of pelvic organ prolapse of ruptured and extruded bladder from a rare complication of vaginal hysterectomy: a case presentation.

BACKGROUND: The prolapse of a ruptured and extruded bladder after vaginal hysterectomy is rare in clinical practice. We report the case of a significant mass that prolapsed from the vagina after a vaginal hysterectomy in a multiparous postmenopausal woman. CASE PRESENTATION: A 67-year old multiparous postmenopausal Chinese woman was found to have a significant mass extruding from the vagina after a vaginal hysterectomy. The mass was a ruptured and everted bladder, and the diagnosis was confirmed after physical and imaging examinations and urethral catheterization. The patient underwent an emergency operation for mass reduction, bladder repair, and partial colpocleisis under general anesthesia. She recovered without prolapse or urinary drainage complications after 35 months of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The present case serves as a guide for the management of patients with pelvic organ prolapse. The condition of patients should be carefully evaluated before surgery, and individualized operation should be performed. Careful postoperative follow-up is crucial for the timely exclusion of complications, especially in elderly patients with persistently increased abdominal pressure.

[Therapeutic effect of tadalafil on lower urinary tract symptoms with erectile dysfunction].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the therapeutic effect of low-dose tadalafil on BPH-induced lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) complicated with ED. METHODS: We randomly assigned 126 patients with BPH-induced LUTS and ED to receive daily administration of tadalafil (5 mg) plus tamsulosin hydrochloride sustained-release capsules (0.2 mg) (treatment group Ⅰ ［T-Ⅰ］, n = 42), tadalafil (5 mg) only (treatment group Ⅱ ［T-Ⅱ］, n = 42) or placebo (control group, n = 42), all for 12 weeks. Before and after 6 and 12 weeks of medication, and at 4 and 8 weeks after drug withdrawal, we recorded and compared the IPSS sub-item scores in the voiding stage and urinary storage symptoms, total IPSS, IIEF-5 scores, and the frequency of sexual activities among the three groups of patients. RESULTS: As for the IPSS sub-item scores in the voiding stage symptoms, T-Ⅰ showed statistically significant differences between any two of the five time points (P < 0.05), but not T-Ⅱ between the baseline and 6-week medication or 8-week withdrawal (P > 0.05), or between 6-week medication and 8-week withdrawal (P > 0.05), nor did the control group among the five time points (P > 0.05). Statistically significant differences were observed between any two of the three groups at 12 weeks of medication and 4 weeks after drug withdrawal (P < 0.05), but not between the T-Ⅱ and control groups at 6 weeks of medication or 8 weeks after withdrawal (P > 0.05). As to the IPSS sub-item scores in the urinary storage symptoms, there were significant differences between any two time points in T-Ⅰ and T-Ⅱ (P < 0.05), but not in the control (P > 0.05), nor between T-Ⅰ and T-Ⅱ at 6 or 12 weeks of medication or at 4 or 8 weeks after drug withdrawal (P > 0.05). With regard to the total IPSS, statistically significant differences were found between any two of the three groups at 6 and 12 weeks of medication and 4 and 8 weeks after drug withdrawal (P < 0.05), but not between 6-week medication and 8-week withdrawal in T-Ⅰ or T-Ⅱ (P > 0.05), nor among the five time points in the control group (P > 0.05). Concerning the IIEF-5 scores, there was no significant difference in the frequency of sexual activities between the three groups （Ｐ>0.05）.There were statistically significant differences between any two of the three groups at 6 weeks of medication and 8 weeks after drug withdrawal (Ｐ<0.05), but not between 6-week medication and 4- or 8-week withdrawal (P > 0.05) or between 4- and 8-week withdrawal (P > 0.05) in T-Ⅰ, nor between 6-week medication and 8-week withdrawal in T-Ⅱ (P > 0.05) or among the five time points in the control (P > 0.05), nor between T-Ⅰ and T-Ⅱ at 12 weeks of medication (P > 0.05) or 4 weeks after drug withdrawal (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Daily administration of tadalafil at 5 mg can effectively improve the IPSS sub-item scores in the urinary storage symptoms and IIEF-5 scores, with a persistent effect after withdrawal similar to that of its combination with other drugs, and therefore can be recommended for the treatment of BPH-induced LUTS complicated with ED.

Effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, captopril, on bone of mice with streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetes.

There are contradictory results about the effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) on bone. This study was performed to address the skeletal renin-angiotensin system (RAS) activity and the effects of the ACEI, captopril, on the bone of streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetic mice. Histochemical assessment on bone paraffin sections was conducted by Safranin O staining and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining. Micro-computed tomography was performed to analyze bone biological parameters. Gene and protein expression were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting, respectively. Type 1 diabetic mice displayed osteopenia phenotype and captopril treatment showed no osteoprotective effects in diabetic mice as shown by the reduction of bone mineral density, trabecular thickness and bone volume/total volume. The mRNA expression of ACE and renin receptor, and the protein expression of renin and angiotensin II were markedly up-regulated in the bone of vehicle-treated diabetic mice compared to those of non-diabetic mice, and these molecular changes of skeletal RAS components were effectively inhibited by treatment with captopril. However, treatment with captopril significantly elevated serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b levels, reduced the ratio of osteoprotegerin/receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand expression, increased carbonic anhydrase II mRNA expression and the number of matured osteoclasts and decreased transforming growth factor-ß and osteocalcin mRNA expression in the tibia compared to those of diabetic mice. The present study demonstrated that the use of the ACEI, captopril, has no beneficial effect on the skeletal biological properties of diabetic mice. However, this could be attributed, at least partially, to its suppression of osteogenesis and stimulation of osteoclastogenesis, even though it could effectively inhibit high activity of local RAS in the bone of diabetic mice.

Renin inhibition improves ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis of lumbar vertebra in mice.

The skeletal renin­angiotensin system (RAS) is involved in the progression of osteoporosis and the active peptide within the RAS, angiotensin II (ANG II), has deleterious effects on bones. This study was performed to investigate whether suppression of the rate-limiting step of the RAS cascade by the renin inhibitor aliskiren has a benefit on trabecular bone in osteoporotic mice. A postmenopausal osteoporosis model was induced by bilateral ovariectomy. The ovariectomized (OVX) mice were treated with a low (5 mg/kg) or high (25 mg/kg) dose of aliskiren for 6 weeks. Micro-computed tomography was performed to detect trabecular bone parameters of lumbar vertebra and to obtain 3-dimensional (3D) images. Treatment with aliskiren markedly increased bone volume over total volume (p<0.05), trabecular bone number (p<0.05), connectivity density (p<0.05), and bone mineral density (p<0.05) and reduced trabecular bone separation (p<0.05) compared to vehicle-treated OVX mice. Similarly, the 3D images were consistent with the quantitative data that showed aliskiren could markedly reverse the ovariectomy-induced pathological changes of trabecular bone. Thus, this study indicated that the treatment of estrogen-deficient mice with aliskiren could markedly increase bone mass and improve trabecular bone structure, suggesting its potential application in treating postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Insulin resistance in patients with advanced prostate cancer undergoing intermittent or continuous androgen blockade.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Androgen blockade is the principle strategy in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. Impaired glucose tolerance often occurs in those patients after androgen blockade. This study was to investigate the correlation of insulin resistance to intermittent androgen blockade (IAB) or continuous androgen blockade, which is also named surgical castration, in patients with advanced prostate cancer. METHODS: A total of 139 patients with advanced prostate cancer were classified into four groups according to the body mass index (BMI) and the treatment method. Group A consisted of 30 patients receiving surgical castration with BMI >or= 24 kg/m(2), group B consisted of 32 patients treated with IAB with BMI >or= kg/m(2), group C consisted of 37 patients undergoing surgical castration with BMI < 24 kg/m(2), group D consisted of 40 patients treated by IAB with BMI < 24 kg/m(2). Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and fasting serum level of insulin (FINS) were assessed before treatment, six months and 12 months after treatment, respectively. Insulin resistance index (IRI) was also calculated. RESULTS: Six months after treatment, FINS and IRI were all increased in the four groups compared with those before treatment; FINS and IRI were significantly higher in groups B and D than in A and C (FINS: t(A:B)=7.7516, p < 0.01, t(C:D)=4.8078, p < 0.01; IRI: t(A:B) =7.3671, p < 0.01, t(C:D)=5.1005, p < 0.01). Twelve months after treatment, which was the intermittent period of the IAB method, FINS returned to the pretreatment level in group D (q=2.5255, p > 0.05), and dramatically decreased in group B compared to the value six months after treatment (q = 9.0942, p < 0.01); in contrast, FINS and IRI remained unchanged in groups A and C. CONCLUSIONS: Androgen blockade promotes insulin resistance in patients with advanced prostate cancer. Insulin resistance gradually disappears during the intermittent period of IAB.

[Intravesical instillation of pirarubicin (THP) together with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in the prevention of postoperative recurrence of superficial bladder cancer].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Superficial bladder transitional cell carcinoma is aggressive and tends to recurrence after operation. In order to prevent the relapse of bladder neoplasms,this study was designed to explore the effect of intravesical instillation of pirarubicin (THP) together with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on patients with superficial bladder cancer who had undergone surgical operation. METHODS: A total of 34 cases were enrolled from October 1999 to May 2002. After one week of operation, pirarubicin (20 mg) dissolved in 10 ml normal saline plus 20 ml PVP was instilled into bladder, and was retained for 60 minutes. In the following 7 weeks, intravesical instillation of pirarubicin was administered once a week. Subsequently it was done bi-monthly, finally once a month for 6 months. RESULTS: Follow-up was performed for 5-26 months (mean:17.2 months). Among the 34 cases, recurrence was found in 2 cases (5.8%),bladder irritation in 6 cases (17.6%) and hematuria in 4 cases (11.7%) as well. CONCLUSION: Intravesical instillation of THP/PVP is effective for prevention of postoperative recurrence of superficial bladder cancer with fewer side effects. Further study is needed for wide use in such way.