PTP-MEG2 regulates quantal size and fusion pore opening through two distinct structural bases and substrates.

Tyrosine phosphorylation of secretion machinery proteins is a crucial regulatory mechanism for exocytosis. However, the participation of protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) in different exocytosis stages has not been defined. Here we demonstrate that PTP-MEG2 controls multiple steps of catecholamine secretion. Biochemical and crystallographic analyses reveal key residues that govern the interaction between PTP-MEG2 and its substrate, a peptide containing the phosphorylated NSF-pY83 site, specify PTP-MEG2 substrate selectivity, and modulate the fusion of catecholamine-containing vesicles. Unexpectedly, delineation of PTP-MEG2 mutants along with the NSF binding interface reveals that PTP-MEG2 controls the fusion pore opening through NSF independent mechanisms. Utilizing bioinformatics search and biochemical and electrochemical screening approaches, we uncover that PTP-MEG2 regulates the opening and extension of the fusion pore by dephosphorylating the DYNAMIN2-pY125 and MUNC18-1-pY145 sites. Further structural and biochemical analyses confirmed the interaction of PTP-MEG2 with MUNC18-1-pY145 or DYNAMIN2-pY125 through a distinct structural basis compared with that of the NSF-pY83 site. Our studies thus provide mechanistic insights in complex exocytosis processes.

Trichinella spiralis infection ameliorates the severity of Citrobacter rodentium-induced experimental colitis in mice.

Trichinellosis is a food-borne zoonotic parasitic disease that causes serious harm to human health and the pig breeding industry. However, there are reports that Trichinella spiralis (T. spiralis) infection can treat autoimmune diseases, including enteritis and experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE). However, research on the mechanism of T. spiralis infection in infectious enteritis has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, this experiment used Citrobacter rodentium (C. rodentium) to induce colitis in mouse models and explored its underlying mechanisms. In this experiment, a total of 72 C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into four groups. Experimental mice in the TS and TS + CR groups were orally inoculated with individual T. spiralis larvae. At 21 days postinfection (dpi) with T. spiralis, experimental animals in the CR and TS + CR groups were inoculated by orogastric gavage with C. rodentium. The control group received PBS only. The results indicated that the weight loss and macroscopic and microscopic colon damage of mice in the TS + CR group were significantly decreased compared with those observed in the CR group. The results of flow cytometry showed that the expression levels of IL-4, IL-10 and CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Tregs were increased (P < 0.05), while the expression levels of IFN-γ, IL-12 and IL-17 were decreased in the spleens and MLNs of the TS + CR experimental mice compared with the colitis model mice. ELISA results revealed that the TS + CR group not only elicited a strong IgG1 response (P < 0.01) but also a low level of IgG2a response (P < 0.05) relative to the CR group. The above results demonstrated that prior exposure of mice to T. spiralis infection ameliorated the severity of C. rodentium-induced infectious colitis.

Sprouty2 suppresses progression and correlates to favourable prognosis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma via antagonizing FGFR2 signalling.

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) was demonstrated to correlate to the progression and prognosis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) by numerous evidences. However, as a well-recognized suppressor of FGFR2 signalling, the clinical significance of Sprouty (SPRY) family of ICC has not been investigated. In our study, the expressions of SPRY1-4 in 20 pairs of fresh tumour tissues were detected with qPCR, and in 108 cases of paraffin-embedded tissues with immunohistochemistry. The prognostic value of SPRY family in ICC was estimated with univariate analysis and multivariate analysis. As a result, SPRY2 was identified as an independent prognostic biomarker predicting favourable prognosis of ICC. High SPRY2 expression was correlated with good differentiation of ICC. With silencing SPRY2 expression, we demonstrated that SPRY2 could suppress FGFR2-induced ERK phosphorylation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) under FGF1 stimulation. By overexpressing SPRY2-wide type or SPRY2-Y55F, the tyrosine-55 of SPRY2 was demonstrated to be essential in suppressing ERK phosphorylation, tumour invasion and EMT of ICC cells. In conclusion, SPRY2 was correlated with favourable prognosis of ICC via suppressing FGFR2-induced ERK phosphorylation, invasion and EMT. The phosphorylation of SPRY2-Y55 was required in this tumour-suppressing function of SPRY2.

Visualization of a Unidirectional Electromagnetic Waveguide Using Topological Photonic Crystals Made of Dielectric Materials.

We demonstrate experimentally that a photonic crystal made of Al_{2}O_{3} cylinders exhibits topological time-reversal symmetric electromagnetic propagation, similar to the quantum spin Hall effect in electronic systems. A pseudospin degree of freedom in the electromagnetic system representing different states of orbital angular momentum arises due to a deformation of the photonic crystal from the ideal honeycomb lattice. It serves as the photonic analogue to the electronic Kramers pair. We visualized qualitatively and measured quantitatively that microwaves of a specific pseudospin propagate only in one direction along the interface between a topological photonic crystal and a trivial one. As only a conventional dielectric material is used and only local real-space manipulations are required, our scheme can be extended to visible light to inspire many future applications in the field of photonics and beyond.

The Surgical Choice of Incidental Periampullary Carcinoma Management in Emergency Laparotomy.

BACKGROUND Laparotomy patients are occasionally diagnosed as having incidental periampullary cancers, making emergency pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) inevitable. In this situation is difficult to decide whether to perform an emergency PD or a two-stage PD. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 27 patients who underwent emergency abdominal laparotomy were diagnosed with periampullary or pancreatic cancer during the operation without enough preoperative preparation. Ten patients underwent emergency one-stage PD and 17 patients underwent two-stage PD. Data of 137 patients with elective PD were selected as the control group. The preoperative, operative, and postoperative parameters, including hospital stay, medical cost, blood loss, and postoperative complications between elective PD and emergency PD (one-stage and two-stage) and between one-stage PD and two-stage PD were analyzed by chi-square test, Fisher test, or t test. RESULTS Patients undergoing emergency two-stage PD had less blood loss (P=0.014), while patients with one-stage PD had shorter hospital stay (P=0.004), shorter operation time (P=0.047), and lower treatment costs (P=0.003). Additionally, the complications rates between one-stage and two-stage PD had no significant difference (P=0.365). Elective PD was the optimal method due to shorter hospital stay (P<0.001), less hemorrhage (P<0.001), shorter operative time (P<0.001), and lower cost (P<0.001) compared with emergency PD. CONCLUSIONS Based on our experience, one-stage PD had advantages of shorter hospital stay, shorter operation time, and lower treatment costs, while two-stage PD had less blood loss. The emergency two-stage PD may be more suitable for patients with unstable vital signs if emergency PD is inevitable in an emergency laparotomy.

Decreased expression of BRAF-activated long non-coding RNA is associated with the proliferation of clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: BRAF-activated long non-coding RNA (BANCR) has been associated with various types of cancer. Nevertheless, the role of BANCR in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is still not fully understood. This study aims to investigate the relationship between ccRCC and BANCR. METHODS: Expression of BANCR in TCGA renal cancer data sets was analyzed. The expression pattern of BANCR in Immortalized normal human proximal tubule epithelial cell line HK-2 and ccRCC cell lines (ACHN, CAKI-1, A498 and 786-O) was detected by real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). ccRCC tissues with adjacent normal renal tissues diagnosed by pathological methods from 62 patients were used to detect the expression of BANCR, and its correlation with prognosis of ccRCC patients was assessed by Kaplan-Meier method. The LV-BANCR vector was used to examine the influence of BANCR on the proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis and cell cycle distribution of ccRCC cells in vitro. RESULTS: BANCR was downregulated in renal cancer according to TCGA data sets. Compared with adjacent normal renal tissues and normal human proximal tubule epithelial cell line HK-2, BANCR expression was significantly decreased in ccRCC tissues and ccRCC cell lines, and its low expression was associated with poor prognosis. Moreover, in the condition of BANCR overexpression by LV-BANCR vector, the proliferation, migration, invasion capacity of ccRCC cells was inhibited, while the apoptosis was increased and the G1 cell cycle arrest was induced in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: BANCR is downregulated in ccRCC tissues and cell lines, and is associated with ccRCC progression. Thus, BANCR may represent a novel prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for ccRCC patients.

Zak phase induced multiband waveguide by two-dimensional photonic crystals.

Interface states in photonic crystals provide efficient approaches to control the flow of light. Photonic Zak phase determines the bulk band properties of photonic crystals, and, by assembling two photonic crystals with different bulk band properties together, deterministic interface states can be realized. By translating each unit cell of a photonic crystal by half the lattice constant, another photonic crystal with identical common gaps but a different Zak phase at each photonic band can be created. By assembling these two photonic crystals together, multiband waveguide can thus be easily created and then experimentally characterized. Our experimental results have good agreement with numerical simulations, and the propagation properties of these measured interface states indicate that this new type of interface state will be a good candidate for future applications of optical communications.

Coffee consumption and prostate cancer risk: a meta-analysis of cohort studies.

This meta-analysis was conducted to assess the association between coffee consumption and prostate cancer risk. Thirteen cohort studies with 34,105 cases and 539,577 participants were included in the meta-analysis. The summary relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for different coffee intake levels were calculated. Dose-response relationship was assessed using generalized least square trend estimation. The pooled RR for the highest vs. lowest coffee intake was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.85-0.95), with no significant heterogeneity across studies (P = 0.267; I(2) = 17.5%). The dose-response analysis showed a lower cancer risk decreased by 2.5% (RR = 0.975; 95% CI: 0.957-0.995) for every 2 cups/day increment in coffee consumption. Stratifying by geographic region, there was a statistically significant protective influence of coffee on prostate cancer risk among European populations. In subgroup analysis of prostate cancer grade, the summary RRs were 0.89 (95% CI: 0.83-0.96) for nonadvanced, 0.82 (95% CI: 0.61-1.10) for advanced and 0.76 (95% CI: 0.55-1.06) for fatal diseases. Our findings suggest that coffee consumption may be associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer and it also has an inverse association with nonadvanced prostate cancer. Because of the limited number of studies, more prospective studies with large sample size are needed to confirm this association.

Molecular mechanism of ERK dephosphorylation by striatal-enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase.

Striatal-enriched tyrosine phosphatase (STEP) is an important regulator of neuronal synaptic plasticity, and its abnormal level or activity contributes to cognitive disorders. One crucial downstream effector and direct substrate of STEP is extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), which has important functions in spine stabilisation and action potential transmission. The inhibition of STEP activity toward phospho-ERK has the potential to treat neuronal diseases, but the detailed mechanism underlying the dephosphorylation of phospho-ERK by STEP is not known. Therefore, we examined STEP activity toward para-nitrophenyl phosphate, phospho-tyrosine-containing peptides, and the full-length phospho-ERK protein using STEP mutants with different structural features. STEP was found to be a highly efficient ERK tyrosine phosphatase that required both its N-terminal regulatory region and key residues in its active site. Specifically, both kinase interaction motif (KIM) and kinase-specific sequence of STEP were required for ERK interaction. In addition to the N-terminal kinase-specific sequence region, S245, hydrophobic residues L249/L251, and basic residues R242/R243 located in the KIM region were important in controlling STEP activity toward phospho-ERK. Further kinetic experiments revealed subtle structural differences between STEP and HePTP that affected the interactions of their KIMs with ERK. Moreover, STEP recognised specific positions of a phospho-ERK peptide sequence through its active site, and the contact of STEP F311 with phospho-ERK V205 and T207 were crucial interactions. Taken together, our results not only provide the information for interactions between ERK and STEP, but will also help in the development of specific strategies to target STEP-ERK recognition, which could serve as a potential therapy for neurological disorders. Regulation of phospho-ERK by STEP underlies important neuronal activities. A detailed enzymologic characterisation and cellular studies of STEP revealed that specific residues in KIM and active site mediated ERK recognition. Structural differences between the KIM-ERK interfaces and the active site among different ERK phosphatases could be targeted to develop specific STEP inhibitor, which has therapeutic potential for neurological disorders. PKA, protein kinase A & NGF, nerve growth factor.

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 promotes progression and correlates to poor prognosis in cholangiocarcinoma.

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) is related to poor prognosis of several cancers, but the correlation between FGFR4 expression and cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) has not been well elucidated. We investigated the expression of FGFR4 in 83 intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas (IHCCs), 75 perihilar cholangiocarcinomas (PHCCs) and 41 distal cholangiocarcinomas (DCCs) by immunohistochemistry (IHC), and subsequently evaluated association of FGFR4 with clinicopathologic parameters and survival rate. The rate of FGFR4 higher expression was 61.4% (51/83) in IHCCs, 53.3% (40/75) in PHCCs and 56.1% (23/41) in DCCs. FGFR4 expression was significantly related to poor prognosis of IHCC (P=0.002) and PHCC (P=0.019) with univariate analysis, and also identified as an independent prognostic factor in IHCC (P=0.045) and PHCC (P=0.049) with multivariate analysis. Additionally, with functional assays in vitro, we found FGFR4 can induce proliferation, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of CCA cell lines with FGF19 stimulation. Moreover, FGFR4 inhibitor AP24354 can suppress proliferation, invasion and induce apoptosis of CCA cells. In conclusion, FGFR4 expression can be identified as a significant independent prognostic biomarker of IHCC and PHCC. FGFR4 played a pivotal role in proliferation, invasion and EMT of CCA. FGFR4 inhibitor can suppress proliferation, invasion and induce apoptosis of CCA, indicating that FGFR4 may act as a potential therapeutic target.

Simultaneously improving the sensitivity and absolute accuracy of CPT magnetometer.

A new method to improve the sensitivity and absolute accuracy simultaneously for coherent population trapping (CPT) magnetometer based on the differential detection method is presented. Two modulated optical beams with orthogonal circular polarizations are applied, in one of which two magnetic resonances are excited simultaneously by modulating a 3.4GHz microwave with Larmor frequency. When a microwave frequency shift is introduced, the difference in the power transmitted through the cell in each beam shows a low noise resonance. The sensitivity of 2pT/Hz @ 10Hz is achieved. Meanwhile, the absolute accuracy of ± 0.5nT within the magnetic field ranging from 20000nT to 100000nT is realized.

Urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, a biomarker for systemic inflammatory response syndrome in patients with nephrolithiasis.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to determine the diagnostic value of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), C-reactive protein (CRP), and procalcitonin (PCT) in the prognosis of patients presenting with the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) with nephrolithiasis. METHODS: Urine NGAL protein levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 87 patients presenting with nephrolithiasis who were diagnosed as SIRS. Additionally, 52 patients presenting with nephrolithiasis but without urinary tract infection and 30 healthy controls were also included in the study. Levels of serum CRP and PCT were also taken into consideration. RESULTS: Median urinary NGAL levels were significantly increased in the SIRS cohorts compared with nephrolithiasis without urinary tract infection patients (4.28 ng/mL versus 2.69 ng/mL, P < 0.001), and NGAL was markedly elevated even in the early stage of SIRS (3.23 ng/mL versus 2.69 ng/mL, P < 0.001). According to the receiver-operating characteristic analysis, NGAL demonstrated a high diagnostic value compared with either PCT or CRP. In the later stage of SIRS, NGAL remained a highly sensitive (76.8%) and specific (86.5%) diagnostic marker compared with either PCT or CRP. Moreover, the area under the curves of NGAL (0.822) were also superior to those seen in either PCT (0.657) or CRP (0.761). CONCLUSION: Urinary NGAL is a highly sensitive and specific predictor of SIRS for patients presenting with nephrolithiasis. Further study of NGAL as a reliable biomarker of SIRS is required.

Nanostructured metal chalcogenides: synthesis, modification, and applications in energy conversion and storage devices.

Advanced energy conversion and storage (ECS) devices (including fuel cells, photoelectrochemical water splitting cells, solar cells, Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors) are expected to play a major role in the development of sustainable technologies that alleviate the energy and environmental challenges we are currently facing. The successful utilization of ECS devices depends critically on synthesizing new nanomaterials with merits of low cost, high efficiency, and outstanding properties. Recent progress has demonstrated that nanostructured metal chalcogenides (MCs) are very promising candidates for efficient ECS systems based on their unique physical and chemical properties, such as conductivity, mechanical and thermal stability and cyclability. In this review, we aim to provide a summary on the liquid-phase synthesis, modifications, and energy-related applications of nanostructured metal chalcogenide (MC) materials. The liquid-phase syntheses of various MC nanomaterials are primarily categorized with the preparation method (mainly 15 kinds of methods). To obtain optimized, enhanced or even new properties, the nanostructured MC materials can be modified by other functional nanomaterials such as carbon-based materials, noble metals, metal oxides, or MCs themselves. Thus, this review will then be focused on the recent strategies used to realize the modifications of MC nanomaterials. After that, the ECS applications of the MC/modified-MC nanomaterials have been systematically summarized based on a great number of successful cases. Moreover, remarks on the challenges and perspectives for future MC research are proposed (403 references).

[The role of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in helminth infection immunity].

Regulatory T cells (Tregs), a class of CD4+ T lymphocytes which are different from the Th1 and Th2 lymphocytes, have immunosuppressive function and play an important role in maintaining immune homeostasis and immune tolerance. Previous studies showed that the generation of Tregs could be induced, and Tregs reduced the immune pathological damage to the host by inhibiting T-cell function in helminth infection.

A comparative study of thulium laser resection of the prostate and bipolar transurethral plasmakinetic prostatectomy for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia.

UNLABELLED: WHAT'S KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT? AND WHAT DOES THE STUDY ADD?: Thulium laser is a new generation of surgical laser. It is a minimally invasive technology with several advantages, including rapid vaporization and minimal tissue damage and bleeding. However, details regarding the safety and efficacy of thulium laser in treating BPH remains unknown. We performed a comparative study in 100 patients with BPH of the safety and efficacy of thulium laser resection of the prostate (TMLRP, n = 50) and bipolar transurethral plasmakinetic prostatectomy (TUPKP, n = 50). We found that the efficacy and indications were the same in TMLRP and TUPKP. In TUPKP, the morbidity of urethrostenosis was low, and was nearly bloodless in surgery and had higher safety. Nevertheless, TUPKP is more suitable for patients with larger prostate volume. OBJECTIVE: To compare the safety and short-term efficacy of thulium laser resection of the prostate (TMLRP) and bipolar transurethral plasmakinetic prostatectomy (TUPKP) for the treatment of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). METHODS: A total of 100 patients diagnosed with BPH were randomly divided into two groups, treated with either TMLRP (50, group 1) or TUPKP (50, group 2). There was no significant difference in preoperative variables such as age, prostate volume, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax ) and postvoid residual urine volume (PVR) between the two groups. The perioperative parameters and therapeutic effects were recorded and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the following parameters between the two groups (TMLRP vs TUPKP [mean ± SD]): operation duration, 61.2 ± 24.2 vs 30.14 ± 15.9 min; catheterization time, 1.8 ± 0.4 vs 3.2 ± 0.6 d; postoperative hospital stay, 3.3 ± 0.8 vs 4.1 ± 1.3 d. The volume of blood loss and postoperative bladder irrigation were significantly lower in TMLRP group than in the TUPKP group. At 1 month after the operation, there were four cases of urethral stricture in the TUPKP group. At 3 months after the operation, IPSS, quality of life (QoL), Qmax and PVR were significantly improved, with no significant difference between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: TMLRP is superior to TUPKP in terms of safety, blood loss, recovery time and complication rate, and is as efficacious as TUPKP for treating BPH. Operation duration was significantly longer in the TMLRP group than in the TUPKP group.

Novel evidence demonstrates that epithelial-mesenchymal transition contributes to nephrolithiasis-induced renal fibrosis.

PURPOSE: To investigate fibrotic lesions in renal tissues obtained from patients with large calculi, and to selectively evaluate the expression and clinical significance of Twist and E-cadherin in nephrolithiasis patients. METHODS: We recruited 50 patients with kidney stone and 32 matched healthy controls. We determined plasma creatinine (Cr) and corrected Cr clearance (CCr). For the 50 patients, we detected daily urine protein excretion. At the end of percutaneous nephroscopic lithotomy, we performed puncture biopsy to acquire kidney tissue. We obtained normal control kidney tissues from non-nephrolithiasis patients who received a surgical biopsy during open surgery. We determined the expression of Twist and E-cadherin by immunohistochemical staining and scored it with clinical parameters. In addition, we analyzed the degree of expression of Twist and its correlation with long-term renal survival. RESULTS: Overall, the renal function of patients significantly decreased, as indicated by Cr and reduced CCr compared with healthy controls. Activated Twist was strongly expressed in tubular epithelial cells from kidneys of nephrolithiasis patients, whereas we found little positive staining of Twist in normal kidneys. Meanwhile, the expression of E-cadherin was significantly suppressed in kidneys of nephrolithiasis patients. Twist expression was inversely correlated with E-cadherin expression; using multivariate analysis, data showed that the factors influencing renal survival in patients were CCr (relative ratio, 4.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.34-14.38; P = 0.013) and the extent of Twist expression (relative ratio, 3.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-10.68; P = 0.033). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the possible novel EMT marker molecule Twist and Twist staining might be a valuable index predicting renal fibrosis progression in human nephrolithiasis.

Epigallocatechin gallate attenuates interstitial cystitis in human bladder urothelium cells by modulating purinergic receptors.

BACKGROUND: Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) has exhibited antitumor properties against bladder cancer. However, its effects in interstitial cystitis (IC) have not been investigated. METHODS: Here, we performed repeated cystoscopy and re-biopsy of bladder mucosa before and after intravesical irrigation of EGCG in eight patients diagnosed with IC based on clinical and histopathologic assessments. Six normal bladder tissue samples were obtained from age-, race-, and sex-matched asymptomatic control subjects. IC symptom index was used to compare the therapeutic effect in IC patients. Patient-derived bladder epithelial cells were cultured and cell stretch experiments and ATP assays were performed. The expression of purinergic receptors X1, X2, and X3, and Y1, Y2, and Y11, in biopsied samples was detected by Western blotting and real-time polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Moreover, the expression of inducible NO synthase, phosphorylated Akt, and phosphorylated NF-κB was also assessed. RESULTS: All EGCG-treated patients demonstrated different extents of remission of symptoms. We found a significant upregulation in P2X1, P2X2, and P2X3 receptor proteins and P2Y1, P2Y2, and P2Y11 receptor transcripts in IC patients. However, EGCG therapy attenuated the expression of all purinergic receptors. In addition, EGCG demonstrated prominent antioxidative and antiinflammatory effects via inhibition of the upregulation of iNOS and phosphorylated NF-κB. Furthermore, the stretch-activated release of ATP in cultured bladder urothelial cells was greater in cells derived from IC patients, compared with those from the control patients, but EGCG, at all concentrations tested, effectively abolished the increase in ATP release from stretched IC patient-derived cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that inhibition of the expression of purinergic receptors and ATP release in urothelial cells by EGCG supports further development of EGCG as a novel therapeutic option for IC.

Effect of free radical scavenger on c-jun activation in rats with crush syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship between reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated kidney injuries and Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activity and the therapeutic effects of tempol in crush syndrome (CS) model rats. METHODS: Male Wister rats were randomly divided into sham operation group (SOG), CS groups (CS6G, CS12G and CS24G) and tempol treatment group (TG, a ROS scavenger). CS model rats were established by crushing the hind limbs of rats with 15 kg pressure for 6 hours, and inferior caval vein blood and kidney samples were harvested at 6, 12, 24 hours after removing crush pressure. In TG, 100 mg/kg tempol was intraperitoneally injected into CS model rats after withdraw of crush pressure. In SOG, rats were fixed on the board without any crush pressure. The activation of c-jun was determined by western blotting. Serological parameters and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in kidney tissues were determined by standard methods. RESULTS: Acute kidney injury reached the peak at 12 hours after the crush pressure. Compared with SOG, the content of phosphorylated c-jun was significantly higher in CSG and TG (p < 0.05), and the content of phosphorylated c-jun in the CSG was significantly higher than that in TG (p < 0.05). Interestingly, the changes of the MDA content in the kidney tissues of the 3 groups were similar to the changes of phosphorylated c-jun content. CONCLUSION: ROS-mediated phosphorylation of c-jun may play important roles in the acute kidney injury of CS rats. Tempol can inhibit the phosphorylation of c-jun and alleviate the acute kidney injury.

Improvement of erectile function in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia undergoing transurethral plasmakinetic resection of the prostate.

OBJECTIVE: Although transurethral resection of the prostate remains the gold standard surgical treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia, transurethral plasmakinetic resection of the prostate has become a popular alternative. This study investigated the effects of plasmakinetic resection of the prostate on erectile function. METHODS: A total of 400 patients that underwent plasmakinetic resection of the prostate or transurethral resection of the prostate were prospectively enrolled in this study. Of these, 384 patients met the inclusion criteria. One experienced surgeon carried out all the procedures. The International Prostate Symptom Score, International Index of Erectile Function-5, maximum flow rate and ultrasound postvoid residual volume were determined, and evaluated preoperatively and at 12 months postoperatively. Prostate-specific antigen, age and prostate volume of each patient were recorded. RESULTS: The median International Index of Erectile Function-5 score of plasmakinetic resection of the prostate patients significantly increased from 8.0 (interquartile range 7.0-9.0) preoperatively to 21.0 (19.0-22.0) at 12 months postoperatively (P < 0.05). The score of plasmakinetic resection of the prostate patients was significantly higher than that of the transurethral resection of the prostate group (P < 0.05); however, the International Prostate Symptom Score of the plasmakinetic resection of the prostate group was not significantly different from that of the transurethral resection of the prostate group (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A significant improvement in erectile function can be observed at 12 months in patients undergoing plasmakinetic resection of the prostate. Despite these encouraging findings, the effects of plasma kinetic resection of the prostate on erectile function remain to be further studied.

[Corrigendum] High expression of the secreted protein dickkopf homolog 4: Roles in invasion and metastasis of renal cell carcinoma and its association with Von Hippel-Lindau gene.

Subsequently to the publication of the above paper, an interested reader drew to the authors' attention that the ß-actin bands data shown to portray the control experiments in the western blots in Fig. 3C and 4F were apparently identical. The authors have re­examined their data, and realize that the control bands in Fig. 3C had inadvertently been selected incorrectly. The revised version of Fig. 3, containing the correct ß-actin bands in Fig. 3C, is shown below. Note that this error did not affect the major conclusions reported in the paper. All the authors agree with the publication of this corrigendum, and thank the Editor of International Journal of Molecular Medicine for allowing them the opportunity to publish this. The authors regret this mistake went unnoticed during the compilation of the figure in question, and apologize to the readership for any confusion that this may have caused. [International Journal of Molecular Medicine 33: 1319­1326, 2014; DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2014.1673].