EXTL3 could serve as a potential biomarker of prognosis and immunotherapy for prostate cancer and its potential mechanisms.

BACKGROUND: Exostosin like glycosyltransferase 3 (EXTL3) had been reported to be associated with immune deficiency and play prognostic roles in various cancers. However, little is known about the associations between EXTL3 and prostate cancer (PCa). Hence, this article was designed to clarify their associations. METHODS: All original data were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and CellMiner database was utilized, respectively, to identify EXTL3-related signaling pathways and drugs. We explored the relationships between EXTL3 expression and immunity to further evaluate the involvement of EXTL3 in response to immunotherapies. LncRNA/RBP/EXTL3 mRNA networks were also identified for its potential mechanism. RESULTS: Compared with normal prostate samples, EXTL3 was poorly expressed in PCa samples not only in mRNA expression levels, but also in protein expression levels, with worse overall survival (P < 0.05) and this gene could be an independent prognostic biomarker for PCa (both P < 0.05). EXTL3 was revealed to be markedly linked with seven signaling pathways in PCa by GSEA, including calcium, chemokine, ERBB, JAK STAT, MAPK, WNT, oxidative phosphorylation pathways. EXTL3 expression was also revealed to be significantly associated with MSI, immune cells, immune checkpoint molecules, tumor microenvironment and immune cells infiltration. We further predicted immune responses of EXTL3 gene to immunotherapies by TIDE database and the IMvigor210 cohort. A total of six LncRNA/RBP/EXTL3 mRNA networks were eventually identified for its potential mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS: EXTL3 could serve as a potential biomarker of prognosis and immunotherapy for PCa and six LncRNA/RBP/EXTL3 mRNA networks were also identified for its potential mechanisms.

Assessing the Feasibility of Replacing Standard-Dose Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Immunotherapy with Other Intravesical Instillation Therapies in Bladder Cancer Patients: A Network Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy plays a key role in patients with bladder cancer. The shortage of intravesical BCG has motivated researchers to seek alternatives with equivalent efficacy If other alternative intravesical agents have equivalent efficacy compared to BCG, then it may be feasible to replace standard BCG with alternative options. METHODS: We searched all relevant evidence in multiple sources and key data was extracted from included studies. Conventional and network meta-analysis were conducted so that pooled odds ratios (ORs) for the event of tumor recurrence and progression can be computed. The relative efficacy of different intravesical instillation procedures was computed by pooled odds ratios and their 95% confidence or creditable intervals. Besides, several key model assumptions were evaluated in our analysis. RESULTS: Three intravesical instillation procedures have the potential for preventing tumor recurrence: standard-dose BCG (BCG_SD), Epirubicin (EPI) and Mitomycin C (MMC) (ORs < 1). Patients with BCG SD also exhibited a decreased risk of tumor recurrence and progression compared to those with EPI. No significant difference in the risk of tumor recurrence or progression was detected between patients treated with BCG_ SD and those with low-dose BCG (BCG_LD). Results of SUCRA indicated that BCG_EPI, BCG_ MMC and BCG SD had higher rankings with respect to tumor recurrence and progression. CONCLUSIONS: BCG SD, EPI and MMC exhibited established efficacy for preventing tumor recurrence in postoperative BC patients. The efficacy of BCG may not be significantly reduced if standard dose was reduced to a lower level. However, there is no consensus suggesting that intravesical BCG with standard dose can be replaced by alternating or sequentially combined intravesical instillation therapies.

[Isolation and identification of dog periodontal ligament stem cells].

OBJECTIVE: To isolate, culture and identify a dog periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSC) line in vitro. METHODS: The adult dog periodontal ligament cells were isolated by limited dilution of culture cell for single cell clone. Cells originated from one of these clones were assessed through colony-forming efficiency and immunocytochemistry assay and alkaline phosphatase stain was used to identify the source of adult dog periodontal stem cells, at the same time, PDLSC were induced with mineralizatin solution and was found to have long protrude like an osteoblast. Differentiation of PDLSC were assessed. Mineralized potential was studied by Von-Kossa staining. RESULTS: The dog PDLSC expressed STRO-1, which was the marker of mesenchymal stem cells. Also Vimentin, osteoblast-like marker alkaline phosphatase and Collagen-I expressed weakly. Cells were clonegenic, highly proliferative cells and capable of differentiating into osteoblasts/cementoblasts. CONCLUSION: The evidence suggests that the cultured cells were stem cells from adult dog periodontal ligament.